<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Repeated Consequences by Gremlin_In_Blue</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27683650">Repeated Consequences</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gremlin_In_Blue/pseuds/Gremlin_In_Blue'>Gremlin_In_Blue</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Series of Consequences [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>LEGO Monkie Kid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Animal Death, Conditioning, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Forced to kill, Kidnapping, Lima Syndrome, M/M, Mk collects dads like pokemon cards, Murder, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Physical Abuse, Pigsy and Mk have a father-son relationship, Psychological Torture, Rated For Violence, Slow Burn, Solitary Confinement, Stockholm Syndrome, Sun Wukong and MK have a father-son relationship, human death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:23:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>68,059</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27683650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gremlin_In_Blue/pseuds/Gremlin_In_Blue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mk had wondered how much Monkey King's golden fillet must have hurt, but he'd never wanted to know.</p><p>He doesn't have much of a choice now.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Qi Xiaotian | MK/Red Son</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Series of Consequences [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>297</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>272</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk bounced from foot to foot beneath the tree, hopping back and forth as Monkey King threw down peach after peach. He missed one, but he didn't think Monkey King noticed Mk quickly snatching it off of the ground, brushing off the dirt, and tossing it in with the rest in the basket.</p><p>"Are you sure we're allowed in here, Monkey King? The sign said-"</p><p>"The sign's just a suggestion, bud," Monkey King said.</p><p>Mk squinted up against the sun, barely able to pick out Monkey King's twitching tail from the foliage of the trees.</p><p>"Oh, okay! So they don't mind?"</p><p>"Not if you don't give away our position," his mentor murmured.</p><p>"What?" </p><p>"Nothing, nothing."</p><p>Monkey King hopped into the next tree, already picking through for the best peaches on it. </p><p>Mk hurried after, only to feel something snag his ankle. He went down hard, scraping his hands on the rocks and dirt, and the peaches rolled free from the dropped basket. Fortunately, Monkey King hadn't seemed to have noticed the blunder yet. Mk glanced back, but the ground was clear of anything that could have tripped him up.</p><p>He wasted no time in picking himself up and gathering up the peaches. One rolled free and Mk reached for it, only to frown as it continued a slow and sluggish roll deeper into the foliage of the garden.</p><p>Mk pushed through the bushes into a small grove, and beamed when he spotted the wayward peach. He reached for it, but a furry hand picked it up before he could grab it.</p><p>He looked up into Monkey King's smiling face, and the monkie raised a clawed finger to his lips, motioning for silence before Mk could speak. Mk's mouth shut, and the teen glanced around in search of why they needed to be quiet, only to find nothing.</p><p>Monkey King motioned for him to follow, and Mk obediently followed his mentor deeper into the grove. </p><p>"Kid?" Monkey King's voice, shouting from the direction Mk had come. "Kid! Hey, this isn't funny, bud, where'd you go!"</p><p>The teen froze midstep. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to shout, but the imposter moved too quickly. He saw a flash of claws and flinched, something golden flashing past his eyes as the imposter's first strike missed. </p><p>Pain bloomed across his head, claws grazing his forehead and catching on his headband, and then he was on the ground, pinned beneath his attacker's weight. The hand tugged, the headband yanked sharp against his head, and then with a snarl his attacker ripped it in half with the force of his tug.</p><p>Mk's hair flopped over and, pinned chest to ground as he was, right into his face. He struggled, then opened his mouth and screamed for Monkey King.</p><p>The imposter's hand was on his mouth a heartbeat later, claws digging deeper and deeper into his skin until Mk's choked into silence. The pressure instantly alleviated, even as the imposter dragged him into the nearest foliage.</p><p>"Shh. Be quiet," the imposter said, and Mk was horrified to realise that he knew that voice.</p><p>Macaque.</p><p>He felt his stomach sink, even as his heart leaped up into his throat.</p><p>Monkey King had bulldozed his way into the grove, mere heartbeats after Mk had screamed. Golden eyes blazed around the clearing and landed upon the fallen basket of peaches. Monkey King shot towards it in a blur, crouching down and picking up one of the scattered peaches before dropping it into the dirt.</p><p>"Mk!" Monkey King called. "Kid!"</p><p>Mk saw the moment Monkie King's eyes landed on his discarded headband, abandoned in the dirt. The monkie's eyes widened, his face going blank.</p><p>Monkey King was right there. Just out of reach. Mk could see Monkey King out there, through the curtain of hair flopped down and around his face. And yet here in the shadows and bushes, held tight against Macaque's chest, a clawed hand so tight over Mk's mouth that the claws dug into his skin just tight enough to almost draw blood, Mk knew that Monkey King may as well have been continents away.</p><p>Macaque's breath was hot against his ear, the monkie as still as stone while Monkey King crouched down beside Mk's torn headband, laid on the ground in a torn and shredded heap. </p><p>The monkie picked it up gently, almost as if any other way would hurt it, checking it over before clenching it tightly in a white knuckled fist. Golden eyes scoured their surroundings.</p><p>"Monkey King!" Someone screamed in the opposite direction, sounding panicked.</p><p>Mk's heart skipped a beat.</p><p>That was his voice. That was his voice!</p><p>Monkey King bared his fangs, a feral snarl bursting out of him before he was shooting off and out of sight as he gave chase. Mk tried to scream, but it was almost silent against Macaque's palm. The human's eyes burned, and he shut them tight against the tears threatening to add to the ones already running down his face.</p><p>Macaque let out the breath he'd been holding, the exhale burning against Mk's ear. His grip didn't loosen, but his other hand came up, fingers brushing gently through Mk's hair. Macaque pulled the teen's hair up out of his eyes and-</p><p>Something cold pressed against Mk's head. Macaque whispered something, and the metal constricted flush against Mk's skin.</p><p>And then Macaque let him go.</p><p>Mk opened his mouth to scream for Monkey King, already scrambling towards where his staff had been left. Nobody answered his scream, even as he burst through the bushes out of the grove and towards the staff.</p><p>His hand had barely closed around it before he was whipping back around, holding it before him.</p><p>Macaque hadn't raced after him. Instead, the monkie gingerly picked his way through the foliage, taking his sweet time approaching the teen.</p><p>Mk fell into a fighting stance. Macaque did not, flicking his tail almost nonchalantly.</p><p>"Stand down," Macaque said. </p><p>Mk's fear and anger turned to confusion.</p><p>"You don't want me to have to ask again, kid," Macaque said. "Trust me."</p><p>Patience, Mk told himself. Focus.</p><p>"Alright, then-" Macaque shrugged- "hard way it is."</p><p>Macaque's mouth moved, saying something under his breath. Mk prepared for an attack, but the monkie didn't-</p><p>Pain.</p><p>Someone was screaming, loud and shrill. His ears felt like they were popping, and still that horrid scream tore into his eardrums. His throat burned, sharper and sharper, and he realised that it was him. He was the one screaming. It was getting worse, more and more until his mind shortcircuited entirely.</p><p>And then it stopped. The pain eased and ceased, leaving him trembling in the grass like a leaf in a storm. His ears were ringing, and his fingers were gripping so tightly onto his staff that they ached. When he went to let it go, his hands hurt so much at the very idea of moving that he continued to cling to it instead.</p><p>Macaque approached him and crouched down. The monkie smirked and brushed some of the dirt and leaves from Mk's hair.</p><p>"Well, that didn't look fun at all," Macaque said. "You going to be a good boy now? Or do we need another trial run?"</p><p>Mk shuddered, still reeling from what had just happened.</p><p>The monkie scooped him up, one arm against his back and the other beneath his knees. Mk didn't move, still trembling as he clenched his eyes tightly shut. Macaque was moving, and moving fast if the wind rushing through Mk's hair was any indication.</p><p>Mk didn't open his eyes until they had stopped moving. </p><p>They were on a hill, or maybe a mountainside, Mk wasn't sure, overlooking the peach grove. There was a burst of light down in the grove, signifying a clone bursting.</p><p>All was quiet for a moment, and Macaque turned away and resumed walking.</p><p>Even here, miles away, the sound of Monkey King's roar reached their ears.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mk may be Macaque's captive for now, but his strive to escape remains strong and unrelenting.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk wasn't put down until Macaque had stopped in a cave gods know how far away from where he'd been taken, his captor's chest still heaving from the run.</p><p>The cave was small, the stone was cold, and Mk got as far as he could before Macaque activated the fillet and dragged him back in.</p><p>Now he sat at the back, as far away as he could get, shivering in his thin jacket while Macaque crouched at the entrance about a foot away. Mk's chattering teeth was the only sound other than the blizzard raging on the mountain outside. </p><p>Snowflakes drifted in with every bitter breeze. Macaque didn't seem to notice, despite the dusting of white covering his black fur as quickly as it melted.</p><p>Mk curled up even tighter, and his eyes drifted shut despite an enemy being less than a rock's throw away. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this tired.</p><p>Something touched him and he jumped, trying to scramble away.</p><p>"Hold," Macaque said. "Stay."</p><p>Mk batted the monkie's hands away.</p><p>"Hold!" </p><p>"Don't touch me!" Mk snarled. "Don't- don't touch me!"</p><p>Macaque spoke, and the fillet tightened. Mk dropped like a stone. </p><p>Macaque pulled his writhing form close, muffling the boy's wails with his hand. The passing seconds felt like years, and what could have been only a few minutes or even half an hour felt like decades. He didn't know how long he was screaming, knew only that the fillet felt as if it would break his skull into pieces.</p><p>Mk's voice broke and cracked, and only then did Macaque relent.</p><p>"Hold," Macaque repeated. </p><p>Mk stayed as still as he could, curled up and trembling. He tried not to, but tears were already dripping down his cheeks. His throat felt like it was on fire, and it almost hurt worse than the migraine starting to form behind his eyes.</p><p>Macaque tucked Mk under his shirt, between his fur and shirt. He pulled Mk's arms and legs around him before he stood up. </p><p>Mk instinctively grabbed handfuls of fur to keep from falling, his heart pounding as Macaque left the cave. It was warmer, here, the feeling already starting to return to his fingers. His shivering slowly eased.</p><p>After a while, tucked away while Macaque made his way through the snow, Mk's shivering finally eased entirely but for a few here and there shivers, until only a slight drowsiness remained.</p><p>He dozed in and out, waking up each time his grip started to slip, before falling asleep entirely. </p><p>Mk wasn't sure how much time passed before he woke up. Macaque was tugging on him, trying to pry him off, but it was cold out there! Mk tightened his grip and faked a shiver, and the monkie left him alone with nothing more than an irritated huff, and Mk slipped back into sleep.</p><p>It was warmer, the next time he woke up. </p><p>Macaque was laying down, now, his chest slowly rising and falling. </p><p>Mk stayed motionless for a moment before slowly loosening his fists. The monkie didn't seem to wake up.</p><p>Slowly, and carefully, Mk crawled backwards until he was out from beneath the tunic. It was colder, outside, but not as cold as it had been.</p><p>They were on a bed, surrounded by concrete walls. Mk stepped down slowly, wincing as the bed springs creaked, and looked up at Macaque. No sign that he was waking.</p><p>Mk crossed the basement as quietly as he could. He thanked whichever god may be listening for the stairs being concrete instead of wood that could have creaked, and tried the doorknob at top.</p><p>It didn't turn.</p><p>Mk pressed a fist against his mouth to muffle the frustrated sob that tried to slip free.</p><p>"Come on," he hissed under his breath. "Come on, come on. Please, please, please."</p><p>The doorknob stubbornly refused.</p><p>"Fuck!" He shrieked.</p><p>He slammed his fists against the door before pressing his back against it. He slid down it and tugged at his hair and the fillet. Mk clawed at the metal, but it was snug against his skin to the point where he couldn't get even a fingernail under it.</p><p>He cried himself to exhaustion on the steps. Boots stopped in front of him, but Mk didn't have the energy to life his head.</p><p>Macaque crouched down and tilted his head up with a claw beneath Mk's chin. The monkie's face was blankly judgemental, checking the boy over before grabbing his hands. The monkie looked them over, frowning at the scrapes and broken fingernails.</p><p>"Back to bed," he said. "You'll need your rest."</p><p>"I want to go home," Mk whispered. "Please just let me go home."</p><p>Macaque stared him down, his eyes burning holes into the boy.</p><p>"We are going home," he said.</p><p>The monkie turned and started back down the steps.</p><p>"You can sleep in the bed, or you can sleep there and regret it come morning," Macaque said. "I don't care either way."</p><p>Mk remained on the steps, staring the monkie down. </p><p>Macaque didn't seem to care, laying back down on the bed and pulling the sheets over himself. </p><p>"Don't cut off your hand to spite your nose, kid," Macaque said.</p><p>Mk frowned and stubbornly looked away.</p><p>"You think screwing yourself over is worth trying to make a useless point?"</p><p>"Yes," Mk spat.</p><p>It was ages before Macaque seemed to fall asleep again. Once he had, Mk stood up and stretched out his limbs, sore from sitting in one place for so long. He turned to the doorknob and examined it. </p><p>Smooth on the outside. No signs of a keyhole. </p><p>He kneeled down and peered under the door, but couldn't see anything in the dark. </p><p>Desperately wishing that he'd asked for shapeshifting to be one of the things Monkey King taught him first, Mk sat up and thought things over as hard as he could. </p><p>When Monkey King shapeshifted, he always did it so quick. Mk couldn't remember any particular moves or words being involved either. </p><p>He opened his hands and stared at his palms. Maybe it was like that really old American series he read when he was younger, where the teens turned into animals they got the DNA of to go fight aliens. Animorphs. He'd idolized them until he hyperfixated on Monkey King. </p><p>Rachel was strong and brave. She wouldn't have been afraid, not like he was. She'd have morphed into a grizzly bear and taken this door down, Macaque be damned, and ignore the pain of the fillet until she was safe. </p><p>He tried to imagine being her, like when him and Mei would play Monkey King. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine himself morphing into a big bear.</p><p>But when he opened his eyes, nothing about him had changed.</p><p>Tears of frustration pooled in the corners of his eyes.</p><p>"C'mon, you idiot," he hissed at himself. "Why can't you even figure this out? What sort of successor are you if you can't even get away from one bad guy?"</p><p>He closed his eyes and tried again. Tried to imagine turning into a wolf like Cassie, a gorilla like Marco, a tiger like Jake, anything but his useless human form. Tried to imagine turning into a fly, or a beetle, or a butterfly, or a moth, or even a mosquito.</p><p>Nothing worked.</p><p>He could try breaking it with his staff, but he knew he wasn't fast enough to get away before Macaque could activate the fillet. Knew he wasn't strong enough to power through the pain.</p><p>He sniffed and wiped at his wet cheeks and eyes. </p><p>He sat down and hugged his knees, leaning against the door. </p><p>An opportunity to escape would come. It had to. Or maybe Monkey King would swoop in any second now and save him. Maybe he was out there right now, looking for him, or about to break down the door and save him.</p><p>Mk pressed his ear against the door, just in case.</p><p>Silence. </p><p>Wait.</p><p>He pressed his ear against the door, perking up as something padded close with the clicking of nails on hardwood floor. He heard sniffing and quickly kneeled down, peering out again but unable to make out anything in the dark.</p><p>"Monkey King?" He whispered.</p><p>Nothing. The thing kept sniffing.</p><p>Mk poked his fingers out under the door, as far as his hand could go. A big wet nose sniffed his fingers before an even wetter tongue licked them.</p><p>Mk gave a small, but disappointed smile. Just a dog. But at least he didn't feel so alone.</p><p>"Hi, doggo," he whispered. "I'm Mk."</p><p>A furry head pressed against his hand, and he carded his fingers through the dog's long fur.</p><p>"Don't suppose you could unlock the door?"</p><p>The dog laid down against the door, and Mk pet the dog through the small gap beneath the door.</p><p>"I didn't think so," Mk said.</p><p>He rested his head on his arms, still petting the dog as much as he could.</p><p>"Are you stuck too?" Mk asked. "Or do you like being here?"</p><p>No answer. But he hadn't been expecting one.</p><p>Mk fell asleep like that, curled up on the landing, the warm fur against his fingertips a welcome distraction from the chill of the basement.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mk wakes up still in the basement.</p><p>But he's the only one in the basement</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk was sore come morning from his sleep on the stairs, but he'd been moved to the bed at some point.</p><p>He sat up and threw back the covers, wincing at the aches and pains in his limbs, and looked around the dim basement. He was alone, and Macaque was nowhere in sight.</p><p>He made his way up the stairs and tried the door. Still locked.</p><p>How had Macaque gotten out?</p><p>Mk remained strong for all of a few seconds or maybe even a really long minute before he knocked on the door.</p><p>Silence.</p><p>"Hello?"</p><p>He waited a few moments.</p><p>"Hello!" </p><p>He waited again, then pulled his staff out and elongated it. </p><p>"Step into the strike," he said.</p><p>He reeled back and went for it.</p><p>There was a flash of white when it hit, and the next thing he knew his staff was bouncing off and coming flying back at his face. He didn't have time to scream or react before the momentum carried it straight into his nose.</p><p>Mk tumbled down the cement stairs and landed in a heap at the bottom, nose sore and face throbbing. He watched blood puddle on the floor from his nose for a minute before sitting up and gingerly poking his nose. Didn't seem to be broken, but it would hurt for a while.</p><p>He stared at his jacket, ragged from writhing in the cave and on dirt, and already starting to stain red.</p><p>He'd loved this jacket. It was the first gift he'd ever been given. Pigsy gave it to him, the first year he'd even known him. </p><p>The idea of it being ruined hurt more than the fillet had.</p><p>He pulled it off, wincing as it tugged against forming and already formed bruises, and bunched it up to press against his nose. Maybe he could at least salvage the shirt.</p><p>He heard the sound of the door opening and scurried up the stairs as quickly as he could. </p><p>He caught a glimpse of someone, a human like him, at least maybe. She placed a cup and a plate down and had the door shut with an audible slam before he'd even started up the stairs. </p><p>Mk ignored both and lunged for the doorknob. The lock clicked before he'd even touched it.</p><p>He huffed and shoved the door. Unsurprisingly, it didn't budge.</p><p>He grabbed the cup and plate, having to make two trips with only one hand, and retreated to the bottom of the steps. </p><p>Water in the cup. At least he thought so. He dipped his cleanest finger in and licked the drops off carefully. Tasted like water. </p><p>Next, he examined the food, checking it over carefully. He didn't recognize the brown, slightly grainy, mush, and despite his hunger he wasn't willing to try it.</p><p>Mk pulled the jacket away from his face. Nope, still bleeding. He put it back.</p><p>He waited until it finally stopped before setting the jacket down and looking at the cup. It wasn't very big. Definitely not big enough to wash his jacket with, as if that would prevent the blood stains.</p><p>He grabbed the cup and chugged it down. It soothed his throat while it lasted, but his throat was still hurting even after he'd emptied the cup.</p><p>He wiped at his nose and sniffed, trying to clear it. Not very helpful.</p><p>Mk lifted the plate to his nose and sniffed it. It didn't smell very good. </p><p>He put it back down and went back up to check for silverware, in case he got hungry enough to try it, which he doubted.</p><p>No silverware. </p><p>He returned to the bottom of the steps and moved the cup and plate to the far back of the basement, just to be petty.</p><p>Mk managed to wait for a few seconds before growing bored. He wandered back up to the top and peered under the doorgap, but couldn't make anything out. He poked his fingers out and wiggled them, but the dog didn't seem to be there anymore.</p><p>He wandered back to the bottom.</p><p>Then back to the top. Knocked on the door. Peered back through the bottom when there was no answer.</p><p>"Hello?" He called.</p><p>He listened, but it was so quiet that his ears rang. He hummed to try and make it go away. Didn't work.</p><p>He went downstairs. </p><p>Waited. Got bored, still bored. Went back up the stairs and knocked again.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Went back down.</p><p>Mk plopped himself down on the floor and grabbed his staff. Flipped it around. Wiped the blood off of one end, and shined the dirt off of the other.</p><p>How long now? </p><p>He stood up, anxious at the quiet, needing to move. Mk paced for who knows how long, then went back up and knocked again. Started a drumbeat against it at the lack of answer. Got bored of that.</p><p>Headed back down.</p><p>He jumped on the bed for a while until he got bored of that, then went up the steps to wiggle the doorknob. </p><p>He peered under the gap and called out, then waited for a moment. No human, no Macaque, no dog.</p><p>He headed back down, then up, then down, then faster and faster. He raced up and down the steps until he was panting and had to collapse at the bottom.</p><p>Once he'd caught his breath, he wandered back up and knocked again.</p><p>"Hello?" He called. "I have to go to the bathroom!"</p><p>Still nothing.</p><p>"Macaque?"</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Then, quieter.</p><p>"Dog?" </p><p>He sat down and tried to rub the chill from his arms. It felt as if the cold had seeped into his bones, just enough to be uncomfortable.</p><p>Mk went back down the steps and grabbed the comforter, wrapping it around himself, and stared at the wall. He grew bored of reminiscing quickly, and had to stand up.</p><p>He wriggled around in discomfort before heading back up the steps and knocking again.</p><p>"I really have to go!" He yelled. "I'll pee on your floor, don't think I won't!"</p><p>He wandered back down after a while and danced from foot to foot. </p><p>He perked up when he heard the door open and scurried back up. The door had already clicked, locked again, by the time he got up the steps. </p><p>Mk took one look at the bucket and toilet paper before pounding his fists against the door.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>"Fuck it," he said. "I'm the monkie kid. Monkies gotta do what monkies gotta do."</p><p>He did his business on the platform, dumped the empty cup and toilet paper in the bucket, and left one of the rolls of toilet paper decorating the steps. Cursed Macaque out for good measure, while he was at it.</p><p>He brought the rest of the toilet paper down and unraveled one to use the two tubes he now had as a telescope, then as binoculars, playing 'I Spy a Wall' with himself before dozing off.</p><p>When he woke up, he went to check the door. </p><p>Still locked, and smelling of citrus. They'd cleaned while he'd been asleep, and even took the toilet paper display away. There wasn't a cup or plate, though, and no new food. </p><p>He went back down and curled up in the comforter, wrapping it tightly around himself.</p><p>How long had he been down here? It felt like decades, even though he knew that was ridiculous.</p><p>His legs hurt from his run, and his stomach was starting to hurt. His throat still hurt. He'd have been talking or singing to clear the quiet away, otherwise.</p><p>Noise.</p><p>Mk darted up the stairs and peered under. </p><p>"Doggo?" He asked.</p><p>Sniffing.</p><p>Mk nearly cried in relief. He shoved his fingers under, squeaking in delight as the dog licked his fingers. When the dog moved to leave, he panicked and raced down the stairs, running right back with the food.</p><p>"Dog," he hissed, over and over until it came back.</p><p>He got some on his fingers and shoved it under, smiling as his only company happily licked it up. When it was gone, the dog pawed at the door until Mk forked over more.</p><p>Once it was gone, the dog pawed at the door a few times before getting the hint and laying down. Mk shoved his hand almost far enough to hurt, just to touch the dog's warm fur.</p><p>"You're a good dog," Mk croaked. "A real good dog."</p><p>He laid out on the steps, still petting the dog.</p><p>"I wish you could let me out," he said. "It's super boring down here. I don't know if I've ever been this bored, before."</p><p>He peered under again, smiling when he could vaguely make out that the dog had white and grey fur. </p><p>"Wow, Mk," he chirped, pretending the dog was responding. "That does sound super boring. Not even a bone to chew on?"</p><p>He laughed at himself, feeling stupid. The dog leaned against his fingers.</p><p>"Not even a bone," he told the dog. "What would you do, dog?"</p><p>Switched voice again.</p><p>"I'd eat the pillow, Mk," he said. "That sounds fun. And chew on the bed post."</p><p>He shoved his other hand under to pet the dog with that one, too.</p><p>"I don't have teeth like yours," he said. "I'd get splinters in my teeth. And I think this would be worse without a pillow."</p><p>Mk sighed and pulled a hand free to wipe away a few tears that had slipped free.</p><p>"What am I doing?" He asked himself. </p><p>The dog offered no answer.</p><p>Footsteps. </p><p>Mk pulled his hand free and shoved a hand over his mouth, trying to be quiet.</p><p>"What are you doing here, Lóng?" </p><p>A voice. A voice that wasn't his!</p><p>The dog let out a soft borf.</p><p>"Come on, girl," the voice said. "Come on, Lóng, you're not supposed to be in here."</p><p>Mk's heart sank.</p><p>"Please don't take her away," he begged. </p><p>A gasp from the other side. The slightest rasp of someone opening their mouth, then closing it again as they must have thought better of it.</p><p>"Please," he begged. "I- I…"</p><p>"Come, Lóng," the voice said softly. "Go to bed."</p><p>The slightest thump of a tail. A soft whine.</p><p>A swish as the owner of the voice bent down. A soft sound as the dog was pulled up. </p><p>Mk listened to the dog be led out, his lip wobbling. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and went back down the stairs. When he tucked himself in on the bed, he only felt numb.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I don't normally update twice in one day, but four is a tad short so~</p><p>Anyways if you havent read three aka Mk chillin in a basement, you've gone too far, read three then come back to four</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk wasn't sure how many times the door opened and closed by the time hunger and thirst dragged him out and back to the top of the steps.</p><p>He tried to sip at the water, but his parched throat nearly sang at the feeling of finally being soothed, and he chugged it down. He stared at the plate for a long time before taking a deep breath and pulling the plate closer.</p><p>His stomach growled. He stared at the mush.</p><p>Mk pushed it away, used the bucket, and retreated back downstairs.  </p><p>He heard the door open at some point but didn't go up. He could hear some whispering and movement, and then the door was quietly shut. </p><p>Mk remained on the bed for a while before getting up and going up the steps. A new bucket was there. The cup was gone, but the plate was still there.</p><p>Mk went back down the steps and picked up his staff, tucking it away before pacing around the room. He got tired surprisingly quickly, and retreated back to the bed.</p><p>The next time the door opened, Mk wandered up to chug the water and stare at the plate. It wasn't mush anymore, nor a plate. Just a bowl of hard brown pellets.</p><p>Mk scowled even as his lip trembled, then upended the dog food into the bucket and went back down.</p><p>There was no mush the next time, nor the time after that. Mk got hungrier and hungrier, and still only dog food awaited him. </p><p>He snapped, on day who knows how many, and threw the bowl. Watched the plastic bounce off the wall, kibble exploding and crackling like confetti against the stone, before grabbing it and throwing it again, getting an odd thrill out of just having something to do. Again and again, until he finally pulled out his staff and hit the bowl until it was unrecognizable and his arms felt like lead.</p><p>Mk collapsed next to the bowl, surrounded by dog food and an empty stomach, and sobbed into his knees.</p><p>He felt gross. His hair was greasy, and he'd stopped brushing it with his fingers at some point, and his skin was still covered in the dirt he'd gotten who knows how long ago.</p><p>Mk missed Pigsy. Missed Pigsy, Tang, Mei, Sandy, and- and-</p><p>And Monkey King.</p><p>He missed them so much.</p><p>And food. He really, really missed food.</p><p>He missed Lóng, too. Which was stupid, because he'd never even seen the dog and only met her twice.</p><p>And people talking. He missed talking, and tv, and the arcade. </p><p>He missed everything.</p><p>Especially food.</p><p>Mk rolled onto his back and tried to remember food. </p><p>Slowly, after a while, he got up and crawled back to the bed, pulling the comforter tightly around him and pretending it was someone else instead of just him, alone in a basement.</p><p>The next time he got up, there was water but no bowl or plate. </p><p>He left the water alone and crawled back down the steps. He laid down on the floor and stared at the kibble for what seemed like a century before reaching out and grabbing a piece and bringing it to his mouth.</p><p>It tasted horrible. Like stale cereal made of sawdust and dirt. He almost gagged it right back up.</p><p>After he ate that one, he ate all the rest, and washed it down with water.</p><p>There was food again, the next time he wandered up sometime after hearing the door. Mush.</p><p>Or wet dog food. </p><p>He ignored that thought and ate it, hating himself for feeling grateful. He hated himself even more for licking the plate clean.</p><p>Now that he finally had a full stomach for the first time in ages, something had reignited within him. Instead of sleeping away the hours, he began pacing again. Soon after, he pulled out his staff and ran through past trainings. </p><p>It was five meals after his strength had returned (for the most part) when he set himself upon the stairs and waited. </p><p>The only thing that had thrived in this basement was his patience.</p><p>The sound of the door barely registered before he threw himself forward, shouldering it open the rest of the way. It thunked against someone, and then he was outside of the basement for the first time.</p><p>A slim hand grabbed him as he passed. It was warm. So warm.</p><p>Mk froze up, staring at the human hand clinging to him, stared even as he was diverted back into the basement. The door shut and locked. No food. No water.</p><p>He sat down and rubbed his wrist, staring at where she'd touched him. Slowly, so slowly, he grabbed his own wrist with his other hand, but it just wasn't the same.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the door opened and didn't close, it was enough to catch Mk's attention.</p><p>He sat up in the bed as someone came down the stairs, staring with wide eyes as he was joined down here for the first time since… since…</p><p>He couldn't remember.</p><p>Macaque came to a stop at the foot of the bed and looked him over. Finally, the monkie spread his arms out.</p><p>"Come here."</p><p>His voice was soft. Quiet. But still so, so loud. </p><p>Mk got off the bed and approached slowly. Was he hallucinating? Had he finally gone completely crazy down here? </p><p>He reached out, let his fingtertips brush against the front of Macaque's tunic. </p><p>Solid.</p><p>Mk threw himself forward, clinging tightly onto the first other person he'd seen in forever. Macaque's arms came down, holding him close and rubbing circles into his back. Mk sobbed into the monkie's shirt, holding on for dear life, in case the monkie left him alone down here even one more time.</p><p>The monkie scooped him up and carried him up the steps and out the door. </p><p>Mk stared around as if seeing the world for the first time. The light hurt and made him squint, and he stared around at the walls and furniture in awe. A big grey and white dog laying in a dogbed wagged as the two passed, and Mk nearly cried.</p><p>Macaque dropped him into a full bathtub, clothes and all, and tackled the rat's nest on Mk's head with half a bottle of conditioner and a brush. Mk let him, too busy marvelling at being surrounded by so much water than to put up a fuss.</p><p>His fingers were wrinkly by the time Macaque seemed satisfied. The monkie stood up and headed for the door, and Mk felt cold panic overtake him. </p><p>"Mk-" Macaque sounded irritated, as he tugged Mk back to the tub- "clean yourself. Clean clothes on the counter. I'll be outside the door."</p><p>The monkie tossed some towels down on the puddles the drenched monkie kid had caused, then left. The door didn't click after it closed.</p><p>Mk got out and scurried over to peer under the gap.</p><p>"Macaque?" He croaked.</p><p>"Right here," the monkie said. </p><p>Mk could see the monkie's shoes and the end of his tail, outside the door, and felt some of the panic subside.</p><p>"Promise?"</p><p>"Promise," Macaque said.</p><p>Mk returned to the tub and pulled the plug so that he could take a shower instead. His clothes he left on the floor.</p><p>He scrubbed and scrubbed until the water stopped running brown and black, then lingered for the warmth of the water.</p><p>He was skinnier, now that he could see himself clearly. Pale, too. Much too pale.</p><p>He toweled himself off and hurried into the new clothes. They were soft. So soft he clung to them for a moment before putting them on. Pajamas, orange and red. When was the last time he wore pajamas? </p><p>Mk reached for the doorknob, but didn't have the heart to turn it. It was stupid, but a part of him was terrified that it wouldn't turn for him.</p><p>"You still there?"</p><p>"Still here," Macaque answered.</p><p>"I'm done."</p><p>"Took you long enough," Macaque grumbled.</p><p>The door opened, and Mk hurried out of the way of it.</p><p>"Come," Macaque ordered, and Mk hurried after, purposely bumping into the monkie to assure himself that he was really there.</p><p>Macaque sat him down at a table and gave him a bowl of food. Actual food, a plate full of actual human food. Mk scarfed it down like a starving man without hesitation, hovering over it just in case it was taken away. There was a glass of milk, too, and Mk chugged it down so fast that he nearly choked on it.</p><p>After that, he was taken back to the bathroom and given a toothbrush and toothpaste. He scrubbed until his teeth hurt, and followed Macaque through the halls until they got to a room with one barred window.</p><p>Mk stopped in the doorway and watched Macaque take one of the throw blankets off of the bed and toss it onto the couch along the other wall. When the monkie straightened and headed towards the door, Mk felt the panic from earlier rise up and stab at him.</p><p>He backed up and pressed himself against the wall in the hall, but the monkie snapped his fingers and pointed at the couch. </p><p>"Go," Macaque ordered. "Get in here. Now."</p><p>Mk shook his head. </p><p>There was no second chance. </p><p>The pain of the fillet had been a distant memory. Distant until that moment, crying and twitching on the floor as Macaque dragged him into the room and closed the door behind him as he left.</p><p>He didn't deactivate the fillet.</p><p>The panic from earlier returned now that he was alone, stronger than before. Mk dug his fingers into his head, tearing at the metal even as his blood started dripping from the bloody mouths he was raking into his skin just trying to get a grip underneath the fillet as if it might grant him relief. The damned thing didn't even budge or shift.</p><p>It felt like he was there on the floor even longer than he'd been alone in the basement. Mk barely noticed the door opening again some time later, barely noticed Macaque taking his time getting in and closing the door.</p><p>And then Macaque snapped those blessed words, deactivating it, and Mk collapsed against the floor, his body aching.</p><p>"Are you going to tell me no again?" Macaque asked. "I give you food, water, a place to sleep, clothes, shelter, and you disrespect me so?"</p><p>The monkie snarled at him, then, baring his sharp canines.</p><p>"Ungrateful little shit," he snapped. "I ought to leave you like that all night, with that thing on."</p><p>"N-" his voice broke as the word died in his throat- "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please-"</p><p>A hand in his hair. He flinched, but Macaque only ruffled his hair.</p><p>"Look at you," the monkie said, voice softer now. "You cut yourself up. A little dramatic, don't you think?"</p><p>Mk shut his mouth tight.</p><p>Macaque scooped him up, and Mk melted into the contact, clinging tightly as the monkie tried to drop him onto the couch. Macaque eventually managed to pry him off, dropping him onto the couch and making his way to the bed after turning off the light.</p><p>Mk, exhausted from the fillet, fell quickly into a fitful sleep. </p><p>He was midway through a nightmare before a hand shook him awake.</p><p>Mk opened his eyes, confused at being woken up by someone for once, and yawned as he focused on whoever had woken him up. He was instantly awake at the sight of the two golden eyes staring back at him.</p><p>His face broke into a grin so wide that it hurt, his chest swelling with relief and happiness.</p><p>He was going home. Monkey King had come to save him, he was going home! Tears welled up in his eyes and he burst forward, wrapping his arms tight around his mentor.</p><p>"You came for me," Mk whispered. "I knew you would, I knew-"</p><p>"Whoa there, buckaroo," Monkey King said.</p><p>Monkey King pried his arms off and held him back by the shoulders.</p><p>"I just came for my staff."</p><p>Mk stared at him. Glanced at the lump on the bed, then back at Monkey King.</p><p>"What?" Mk rasped.</p><p>Mk took a deep breath and sat back down on the couch, feeling sick. </p><p>"I mean, you're just some human," Monkey King continued. "I mean look at you. You're honestly pathetic. I'll choose someone better to wield my staff, I just need it back."</p><p>Mk felt like he was going to throw up. Felt like something had broken somewhere inside as all the hope he had was squashed.</p><p>He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.</p><p>"I don't have all day, Mk. Give me the staff."</p><p>Something clicked. Suspicion. Mk opened his eyes, fire reignited.</p><p>"Has Pigsy asked about me?" Mk asked.</p><p>The monkie narrowed his eyes.</p><p>"No," Monkey King said.</p><p>"Not even Tang?"</p><p>"Nope," the monkie said. "Nobody's asked. Nobody's looked. Why would they? You're just some kid with a heavy stick who happened to be nearby."</p><p>Mk barely kept his face from twisting. The pain faded into cold, sharp ice inside of him.</p><p>"I don't have the staff," Mk said. "You should just go."</p><p>The Monkey King- no, not Monkey King, never in a million years Monkey King- stared for a moment before turning away. If Mk hadn't known better, he may have figured that the purple sheen that crossed the Monkey King's eyes was a trick of the light.</p><p>But he did know better.</p><p>He curled back up on the couch, resisting the urge to shoot the Macaque on the bed a hateful glare.</p><p>The Monkey King fake shifted into a butterfly to fit through the bars and flew away without looking back. Only then did Mk let the hatred show on his face, tucked against the couch.</p><p>Even now, Macaque was trying to trick him. The way he had when they had first met. The way he had when he'd stolen Mk's shape during his fight with Monkey King, or when he had stolen Mk in the first place. Just a trick. A cruel, ruthless trick.</p><p>Mk grabbed onto that hate and fury against the monkie. Held tight, and swore to never let it go.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>First day out of the basement goes... well, it goes</p><p>Tw for implied gore for this chapter</p><p>(Also fjjdidickd every single one of you makes my entire week with your comments and likeee i love you guys so much i almost feel bad for hurting yall hearts)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk pushed the pancakes around on his plate, too nervous to eat them yet.</p><p>Something had happened while he had slept. Something big. It hung between Macaque and the woman like a bomb, boiling over a shredded phone in the middle of the table. The sound of Macaque's tail lashing against the floor with soft thumps while the woman refused to meet his gaze was the only sound.</p><p>"We had an agreement," Macaque said.</p><p>Mk quickly became fascinated with his plate, dropping his gaze and stuffing a bite of pancakes in his mouth. </p><p>It was quiet. Quiet but for the thump, thump, thump of the end of Macaque's tail and the soft click of Mk's fork against his plate. He tried to be quieter.</p><p>The woman's grip tightened on her silverware in the corner of his eye.</p><p>"I think I was pretty straightforward," Macaque said. "And we've been doing so well in this arrangement. Until you had to go and ruin it."</p><p>"I wasn't calling the number in the paper, I swear I-" </p><p>Macaque stood up so quickly that the chair slid away and onto its side with a clatter, and the woman went silent. Mk slouched, trying to look smaller and remain unnoticed.</p><p>Macaque's gaze burned into Mk. He shrank a little more in his seat, body tensing up. And then the gaze moved back to the woman, and the monkie kid relaxed by the slightest margin.</p><p>"It was fine when you thought he was a demon child," Macaque said. "What's changed now? Hm? A little inkling of something other than self-preservation when it turns out that the thing isn't a demon at all?"</p><p>"He escaped out the door, please, I saw him when I put him back, I-"</p><p>Macaque snarled. The woman went silent.</p><p>"I could have killed you," Macaque said. "When I came here, I could have killed you and not bothered at all. All you needed to do was to keep your trap shut and give me lodging, and in return I let you continue your pathetic mortal life. You just had to keep your mouth shut. And you couldn't even do that."</p><p>"I didn't call."</p><p>"You were going to."</p><p>A copy rose from Macaque's shadow, sliding across the floor and solidifying behind the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, then turned wide eyes onto the original Macaque as he stood and moved to the stove and turned one of the burners on the stove on high.</p><p>"Mk," he said. "Pay attention."</p><p>Mk startled and flinched into his seat, nearly banging into the table. He stuffed another bite of pancakes into his mouth, torn between keeping his eyes on his plate and looking at Macaque.</p><p>"We will resume your training today," Macaque said.</p><p>Macaque pulled off his scarf and crossed the small kitchen. He pushed the teen back into his seat as he rose to scurry out of reach, but to Mk's surprise the monkie only wrapped his scarf tightly around the human's head. Mk closed his eyes on reflex, dark red against his eyelids, the fabric soft against his skin.</p><p>"First lesson," Macaque said. "Curbing that curious mind of yours. Your goal is no peeking, but you will not be punished if you do." </p><p>Mk shoveled another bite of pancake in without a word, hating how he could feel his hand shaking. He couldn't see now, but he could still hear.</p><p>Dog nails clicking against the floor, a door shutting, the woman starting to beg and shriek, the dog barking and howling and scratching at the door; he ignored it all. Patience. Focus. He focused on the feel of the fork in his hand and the taste of syrup on his tongue.</p><p>"I don't make empty promises, human," Macaque said. "I told you what I would do if you so much as tried to tell anyone about me or the kid."</p><p>A dwarer sliding open. A dwarer sliding shut. The woman's pleas and screams went gargled.</p><p>And then they suddenly pitched high, and Mk dropped the fork and dug his hands into his ears, wanting- no, needing- to drown it out. </p><p>Dwarer opening. Dwarer shutting. Something sizzling against the stove. </p><p>Mk hummed. Hummed as loud as he could, hands held so tightly against his ears that it hurt. Hummed the Monkey King Animated Show as loudly as he could, forcing the high pitched noises far away from his head.</p><p>For the first time in a long time, he wasn't hungry.</p><p>Something moved in front of his face. Mk didn't dare move. And then warm hands gently tugged at his hands. Mk didn't move them away from his ears. One of the hands patted his head, and then he was scooped up and carried. </p><p>Mk offered no protest, only slowy pulling his hands away from his aching ears after a moment of nothing happening to him. He was sat on something soft, and then the scarf was pulled down to his neck.</p><p>Macaque was crouched in front of him, smiling. Mk almost shuddered, remembering the last time the monkie had smiled at him like that.</p><p>Don't you feel stronger? </p><p>He shoved the memory away.</p><p>"Good boy," Macaque praised, emphasized by ruffling Mk's hair. "Didn't even try to peek."</p><p>The monkie stood up straight, and Mk perked up as Macaque turned on the tv and returned to the couch he'd left Mk on, tugging him over next to him as he sat down and grabbed a nearby remote.</p><p>Mk turned his eyes to the tv. Some program about monkeys was playing, but some tv was better than no tv, and he fixated on the screen. The monkeys were grooming each other, a narrator speaking over as they did so.</p><p>Macaque touched his head, earning a flinch from Mk. But the monkie only gently brushed his fingers through Mk's hair instead of hurting him.</p><p>Macaque's fingers tugged through Mk's hair, hesitant and awkward. The monkie kept stopping to stare at the tv, then going back to brushing. Mk figured it would go a lot faster if the monkie just grabbed a brush or, even better, left Mk alone entirely, but he didn't dare say so to Macaque's face.</p><p>"I told her to take care of you while I was gone-" Macaque broke the awkward silence but didn't stop picking through Mk's hair- "she couldn't even do that right."</p><p>Mk looked up at Macaque, the monkie cursing softly as he lost his place.</p><p>"You were gone?" </p><p>The monkie pushed Mk's head back down and resumed grooming.</p><p>The tv erupted into screeching, and Mk flinched at the sudden noise. On the screen, one of the monkeys was fighting another, and Macaque paused in his grooming. Mk glanced up to see the monkie staring at the screen.</p><p>"Macaque?" </p><p>The monkie jumped a little, glancing at the human and shoving his head back down as he cleared his throat.</p><p>"Stop squirming," the monkie told him, resuming his soft brushing. "Watch the television."</p><p>Mk turned his gaze to the tv.</p><p>"The rival takes over the troop if he wins," Macaque said. "Kills the old leader's children and makes his own. Everything the last leader had, it's his. Do you know what that means, Mk?"</p><p>Mk didn't answer. Macaque answered for him.</p><p>"This world does not reward kindness, kid," Macaque said. "It rewards power. It rewards those capable of doing what must be done."</p><p>The monkie, finally seeming satisfied with his work, patted Mk's head before leaning back against the couch. His tail curled around Mk's ankle as he pulled the boy back and against his side.</p><p>Mk wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a threat or a reassurance. But Macaque was warm, and if he didn't look at him he could almost pretend he was hanging out with his mentor, and not his enemy.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>"You have power, Mk," Macaque said. "But you are weak."</p><p>Macaque turned Mk's head back to the tv. The intruder stood victorious over the old leader's motionless form, his chest heaving.</p><p>"Sun Wukong wanted to keep you from your full potential, Mk. He is weak, now, and he wanted to keep you weak, too," Macaque snarled. "Under me, you will be strong." </p><p>Mk kept his mouth shut and curled up. He clenched his eyes shut tight and pretended he wasn't here.</p><p>Macaque seemed to drift off soon enough, and Mk carefully got out from the monkie's grip once he'd tuned back into the world enough to notice. The front door was locked and barricaded, and all the windows had been barred.</p><p>He backtracked to the basement, opening the door to the house's small mudroom. One door led to a backyard, and he hurried over to it only for his heart to sink. Surrounded by forest as far as the eye could see, and unfamiliar mountain tops past that. The door was locked, to boot, and there was a workbench in front of it that would be too loud to move.</p><p>Lóng was against the other door. She lifted her head as he entered, her tail thumping. He reached for the doorknob, and she shimmied out of the way as he unlocked it. The door creaked when it opened, and his grip tightened at the familiar noise.</p><p>Mk stood at the top and stared down into the dark basement that had been his home for the past who knew how long. The woman was down there, blood covering her front past her mouth like a zombie in a movie. Her mouth opened helplessly before twisting into a scrunched smile. </p><p>He watched her make her way up the stairs. Tried to feel bad for her, or even sad, but what Macaque had told him kept running loops around his head. The eons of time spent in that basement…</p><p>He tried to find sympathy, even pity maybe, but he only felt something dark coiling deep inside of him. </p><p>"The dog food goes down better if you save the water until after," he said. </p><p>He watched her face twist from relief into shocked horror. Mk smiled at her. It didn't reach his eyes.</p><p>She let out a gargled noise and raced up the stairs. </p><p>Mk beamed a big, toothy grin and slammed it shut before she'd even reached the top step. Mk locked the door and watched the doorknob shake and tremble, and then the doorframe itself began to shudder as she slammed her fists against it.</p><p>"What are you doing in here, Lóng?" He asked the dog. "You're not supposed to be in here. Come on, girl."</p><p>The dog whined, but stood up to follow, and Mk turned around right into Macaque.</p><p>"I- uh- I was just-"</p><p>Macaque reached forward and ruffled Mk's hair before slinging an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close against his side in a sort of half hug.</p><p>"I know that who Sun Wukong once was is someone you can be, with the right training," Macaque told him. "No, you'll be even better. Better than Sun Wukong. Stronger. I'll make a killer out of you, yet. You should have seen him, back when he was great. Could slaughter an entire group of anyone and anything without batting an eye. You're going to be strong, Mk. Stronger than Sun Wukong. Stronger than me."</p><p>Mk felt sick. He looked away from the monkie before him.</p><p>"I don't want to hurt anyone," he said. </p><p>Macaque crouched down before him and put his hands on Mk's shoulders, ducking his head until he could catch Mk's gaze.</p><p>"That's because you're weak, kiddo," Macaque said. "But I will make you strong."</p><p>The monkie stood.</p><p>"We'll get there," Macaque promised. "After all, you <em>are</em> the weapon. <em>My</em> weapon."</p><p>Macaque's face broke into a wide grin. His grip tightened on Mk's shoulder. </p><p>"And I will forge you into a deadly one."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The tables have turned, with the woman in the basement instead, now. But Macaque has bigger lesson plans for Mk than being a bystander</p><p>Tw for the ch: Animal death</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk watched quietly over his toast as Macaque placed a key down in front of him.</p><p>"You're in charge of this starting tomorrow," Macaque said. "Don't talk to her. Don't touch her. Leave food and water and go. She does not get past the doorway."</p><p>Mk nodded and snuck some of his toast to the dog, who happily scarfed it down. He was sure that Macaque had noticed him feeding the dog from the table, but the monkie hadn't scolded him for it yet.</p><p>"Finish your toast. I'm teaching you how to shift today. Once you've accomplished that, we'll get you accustomed to using them and achieving a high morphing speed."</p><p>Mk perked up, and Lóng took an entire piece of toast in his distraction.</p><p>"Like shapeshifting?" </p><p>"Like shapeshifting," Macaque said. "Look at you."</p><p>The monkie snatched up one of Mk's hands.</p><p>"Dull," Macaque said. "No claws, no sharp teeth. You are fragile. Humans are inherently weak."</p><p>He dropped Mk's hand and snatched up a few papers he'd left on the counter.</p><p>"We need to see an improvement, and soon," Macaque said. "I'm not going to lie to you, Mk. You're going to have to work your ass off to get to where we need you to be."</p><p>"For what?"</p><p>"What have I said about curiosity?"</p><p>Mk looked back at his last piece of toast and muttered an apology.</p><p>"There is a time and place for questions," Macaque said. "That time is not now. Save it for training."</p><p>"Got it."</p><p>Macaque stared at him.</p><p>"I mean.. yes… sir?"</p><p>Macaque raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.</p><p>"Is that how you address your mentor? Your master?" Macaque asked.</p><p>Mk barely kept himself from scowling.</p><p>"Yes, master, I understand," he said. It came off more sarcastically than he'd meant it to.</p><p>"Teenagers. Snarky little shits," Macaque grumbled. "Come, bring your food."</p><p>Mk followed, stuffing the last piece into his mouth and chasing after the retreating monkie. For the first time in ages, he was actually looking forward to something.</p><p>Macaque led him outside, and Mk froze the second his feet touched the grass. He would have thrown himself down upon it, but Macaque let out a sharp scolding to get back on task, and so he hurried over to the monkie's side.</p><p>Lóng followed them out, plopping down in the shade with an audible huff. Mk plopped himself down near her, criss cross applesauce, and rocked back and forth impatiently. He'd had enough of being patient lately.</p><p>"Alright. First things first. To change your shape, you must believe that you can."</p><p>"Ugh," Mk grumbled.</p><p>Macaque cleared his throat.</p><p>"Sorry," Mk said. "Kid show flashbacks. Power of friendship. Believe in yourself. All the cheesy stuff taken to the cheesy extremes."</p><p>The monkie shook his head and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before continuing.</p><p>"Focus on what you want to be. Understand what you want to be. Believe that it is more than a want, that what it is that you want to be is what you already are."</p><p>The monkie stood.</p><p>"We'll start small. Close your eyes," the monkie ordered, and Mk did as told. "Focus. You are not human. You never were."</p><p>"But-"</p><p>Macaque snarled. Mk took the not so subtle hint and promptly shut up.</p><p>"You are a rabbit," Macaque snarled. "The world is your enemy. You must be fast, you must be alert. You are small, and everything else is big. You must run, and kick, and fight for every second of life or you will lose it."</p><p>Mk tried to imagine turning into a rabbit. He peeked his eyes open, but nothing had changed.</p><p>"Eyes closed."</p><p>Mk shut his eyes.</p><p>"Focus harder," Macaque snapped.</p><p>"I am focusing!"</p><p>A hand on his shoulder, claws digging in hard enough to make him yelp. And then it was gone.</p><p>"Watch your tone with me," Macaque growled. "I will not tolerate disrespect."</p><p>"Okay! Sorry."</p><p>Another growl.</p><p>Mk took a deep breath. Held it. Let it go.</p><p>"Sorry… Master."</p><p>The growl ceased.</p><p>"Focus," Macaque ordered, voice calm once more. </p><p>Minutes dragged by, the silence awkward as Mk did his best to imagine turning into a rabbit.</p><p>"What are you doing?" Macaque finally snapped.</p><p>"Trying to imagine turning into a rabbit," Mk said.</p><p>Macaque let out an irritated 'ugh' before stomping closer.</p><p>"You are not becoming a rabbit!" Macaque snarled. "You are a rabbit. You have always been a damn rabbit!"</p><p>Mk flinched and tried to make himself look smaller, opening his eyes to stare at the enraged monkie in wide eyed fear.</p><p>"You are small!" Macaque roared. "You are small, you are tiny, and you are pitiful! You are helpless!"</p><p>Mk tried to scramble back, but Macaque grabbed his wrists and squeezed until tears of pain fell from Mk's eyes.</p><p>"You are helpless, and there is no one who will save you! All you can do is run! All you can do is be faster than your foes! You must be alert, you must be cunning, you must be swift! For there are a thousand enemies who will kill you in a heartbeat! Run, rabbit of a thousand enemies, for all of the world will be your enemy!"</p><p>Mk kicked as hard as he could, overtaken by his panic. Macaque raised his arm to protect his face, yelping as claws dug across his skin and fur, but he let Mk go.</p><p>Mk fell, fell farther than he should have, and landed on his side. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, and he ran in terror from the monkie, darting across the yard until he nearly barreled into the fence.</p><p>He darted along the fence, back and forth, tiny heart pounding in his chest so quickly he feared it would stop entirely. </p><p>Something grabbed hold of him, tight against something on his head, and it hurt. It hurt in a way he'd never hurt before, and Mk let out a shrill shriek that only got louder when he was painfully yanked up into the air.</p><p>And then he was clutched tight in Macaque's arms, only one arm needed to keep him up. He kicked and kicked, but his hind legs kicked out at nothing as Macaque held him aloft. Mk could have screamed at the giant monkie.</p><p>"Yes!" Macaque beamed. "Yes! Just like that!"</p><p>His fear was beginning to subside, as Macaque pulled him close and softly pet him. The monkie rubbed Mk's ears, still hurting from where he'd been grabbed and yanked into the air.</p><p>Mk looked down at himself in awe, stretching his fluffy toes out as much as he could. He kicked his feet out, staring down at the long back feet before beginning to squirm.</p><p>Macaque put him down and Mk hopped around in excitement.</p><p>"Look! Look-" he bounced around Macaque's feet- "I did it! I did, I did!"</p><p>"I see that, kiddo-" the monkie crouched down, looking amused at the small and fluffy black rabbit bouncing around his feet- "I knew you could."</p><p>Mk took off across the yard, running circles into the grass as he squeaked in excitement, hopping and jumping around until his little legs burned.</p><p>He stooped and stood on his hind legs, little nose twitching as he stared up at the clear sky above him. He closed his eyes and let his ears fall back, letting out a sigh as he felt the sun's warmth on his face, the grass soft beneath his feet.</p><p>He opened his eyes and stared up at the blue sky and the sparse few white clouds floating amongst it. The trees sang as the wind ruffled through their leaves, and he could hear it better than he ever had before. He could hear so much more than he'd ever thlught was possible.</p><p>It was beautiful. </p><p>His nose twitched again, and he lifted his ears. They swiveled back and forth on his head, catching all the sounds that the world had to offer him. There was wind nearby, rustling through something. He wasn't sure what it was, and his ears twitched as he looked around in confusion. What was that?</p><p>Macaque leaped over him and Mk shrieked at the monkie's sudden appearance, his ears pressed flat against his head as he flattened against the grass. The monkie grabbed something and landed in a roll, hopping to his feet with something flapping wildly in his hands.</p><p>The something shrieked and struggled in Macaque's grasp. The monkie snarled and cracked it in half, and the thrashing, screeching thing went limp and motionless, body bent at an unnatural angle. Macaque dropped it to the ground and turned an enraged glare onto Mk.</p><p>Mk approached slowly, cautious as he sniffed at the large hawk that had nearly carried him away. Dead. It was dead. He scrambled a few steps back from it, ears still flat against his head.</p><p>"What part of 'the world will be your enemy' and that 'you need to be alert' did you not understand?" Macaque roared.</p><p>The monkie scooped him up in one hand and the bird with the other. He ignored Mk's begging to stay outside and left the dog behind, still laying beneath the tree.</p><p>Mk wasn't put down until they were inside, and the door was quickly locked behind them. Mk's ears fell, and he scratched hopelessly at the door. </p><p>"Even when human, you are a rabbit among hawks," Macaque said. "The world is not a kind place, Mk. It is cruel, and it will tear you apart at the first opportunity!" </p><p>The monkie snatched him up, and the small rabbit shrieked and squirmed, but could not escape.</p><p>"Will you be a rabbit? Will you be dinner? Are you the prey or the predator? The hunter or the hunted? How fucking stupid are you that you can't even mamage to do the simplest things right? You useless little-"</p><p>Mk bit him, and Macaque dropped him like fire, his eyes wide in shock at the blood dripping from his torn hand. </p><p>Mk landed on his side. He hopped to his feet and darted into the living room to throw himself beneath the couch, wriggling and struggling until he was tucked away in the dark out of reach. His tiny chest was heaving so quickly it would have been hyperventilating if he was in human form. He trembled as he heard Macaque enter the room, and backed up even farther. </p><p>The monkie peered under the couch, his purple eyed gaze burning into the teen, but no retribution came. Macaque stood back up and returned to the kitchen without saying or doing anything to him.</p><p>Mk's breathing started to slow, after a bit. He laid down and rested his head on his paws, barely blinking. But the quiet got to him quickly. He was alone under the couch, and the more he calmed, the more he began to feel that odd panic begin to boil and send him into a different panic. He crept out slowly, peering out for danger before poking his head out. </p><p>A sudden faint noise, air brushing against something in motion. </p><p>Mk retreated fast as a flash, and Macaque's hand closed around only air. Another swish, and Mk barely dodged the monkie's tail. He darted out from under the couch and dodged the hands that tried to grab him as he ran out.</p><p>Macaque leaped after him, and Mk ran like he was running out of hell, darting through the house and hiding himself away under a bed. He crawled up into the frame and was as quiet as he could manage with his heart pounding the way it was.</p><p>Mk could hear the monkie moving through the house, checking the rooms. He tried to stifle his breathing as Macaque entered the one he was in, but his heart beat even faster when Macaque closed the door.</p><p>"Come," Macaque ordered.</p><p>Mk weighed his options. Deciding it best to take one punishment over two punishments, he crept out from under the bed. Nearly flattened against the floor as he shook like a leaf, Mk crawled more than hopped over to Macaque. </p><p>The monkie scooped him up. Mk remained as stiff and motionless in the monkie's grip as he could.</p><p>"Better," Macaque said. "I am proud. Maybe you've finally taken what I was teaching to heart. But do not expect leniency the next time you turn against me, do you understand?"</p><p>"Yes, master," Mk squeaked.</p><p>"Good boy-" Macaque pet the rabbit Mk, and Mk relaxed the slightest bit and nuzzled the monkie's hand in an attempt to cute the sleight out of the monkie's thoughts- "you did good today. We'll try something bigger tomorrow."</p><p>Mk nodded his agreement quickly, and the monkie rubbed his soft ears.</p><p>Macaque carried him to the kitchen and put him down in one of the chairs before picking up the dead bird. He put it on the table, and Mk shrunk away.</p><p>"Turn back," Macaque ordered. </p><p>Mk stared at him.</p><p>"Do what you did before. But this time to your old form."</p><p>Mk closed his eyes and focused. When he opened his eyed on the third try, he was rewarded with the sight of his familiar body.</p><p>Macaque nodded his approval and grabbed one of the knives he'd pulled out.</p><p>"Lesson three," Macaque said. "Showing you how to dress and cook a bird."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oops<br/>Tw: death</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk lurked near the kitchen as a mouse some time after dinner, whiskers twitching as Macaque paced within. He'd been sent to bed hours ago, but the room was too big and too empty, Lóng was still outside, and Macaque was in here, and besides, he had almost forgotten to feed the woman. But he couldn't interrupt Macaque's angry pacing, so he remained as still as he could as Macaque cursed into a cellphone.</p><p>Eavesdropping. He was eavesdropping. And Mk knew there would be hell to pay if he was caught.</p><p>"I need more time," Macaque said. "Just get him to give me more time!"</p><p>Silence but for Macaque's frenzied pacing back and forth. His tail was lashing, the end flicking anxiously. Mk pulled back behind the entranceway before the monkie had turned to face his direction.</p><p>"I can't rush this," Macaque said. "I have the weapon, and I'm working on it, but-"</p><p>Inaudible words from the phone.</p><p>"Look, you tell him that at the state the weapon is in right now, it would just as soon bite him in the ass than do what he wants it to," Macaque said. "This isn't something you can just- ugh! Look, you go to him and you ask him. You ask him if he wants a weapon or a ticking timebomb that can and will turn on him at the slightest hint of opportunity! Because it's either he gives me time or- No! No, you're the one who doesn't fucking understand!"</p><p>The monkie went silent and seemed to deflate. He dropped into a chair and rubbed a hand down his face. When he spoke again to whoever was on the phone, he was calmer.</p><p>"Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was destroyed in one," Macaque said, composure back in place. "Give me two weeks, at the least."</p><p>The monkie sighed after a moment.</p><p>"Okay… okay, I understand. Thank you. Goodbye."</p><p>He hung up and dropped the phone onto the table before him, rubbing his hands up and down his face. </p><p>Mk backed up, shifted back, and rounded the corner, looking as innocent as he could.</p><p>"Mk," Macaque murmered. "You should be in bed."</p><p>The monkie raised his gaze to Mk's before looking away.</p><p>"I forgot to feed the woman," Mk admitted. "So I came back to put food and water out."</p><p>"Leave her," Macaque said. </p><p>"O-okay," Mk said. "Have... have I done something wrong?"</p><p>"No," Macaque said. "No, Mk, you did nothing wrong. Take a seat. I need to talk to you."</p><p>Mk sat down in the seat farthest from the monkie.</p><p>"What do you want more than anything?" Macaque asked him. </p><p>"…I want to go home."</p><p>The monkie stared at him. The minutes ticked past like years, and Mk shifted awkwardly in his seat.</p><p>"I- I want Monkey King. I want to- I want to go home and- and-" Mk shrunk in his seat as he stammered out the words- "I want to go home."</p><p>"Something I can give you without you leaving this place," Macaque said. "Something that isn't Monkey King, either."</p><p>"I… I want to let my friends know that I'm okay."</p><p>The monkie's features softened the slightest margin. Almost as if noticing his slip up, Macaque's expression stoned over once more.</p><p>"I can give you a phone call. But you have to do something for me," Macaque said.</p><p>Mk nodded, perking up in his seat immediately.</p><p>The monkie looked away again.</p><p>"I... go to bed, we'll talk about it in the morning. Alright?"</p><p>"Alright, master," Mk said. </p><p>"Take the bed, I'll take the couch."</p><p>"Oh, um. Okay! I'll just, uh, go to bed! Goodnight!"</p><p>He hopped up and darted to the room, almost missing the soft 'night, kid' that followed him.</p><p>Mk slammed the door behind him and let out a victorious whoop before hopping around the room in his excitement. </p><p>A phone call.</p><p>A phone call!</p><p>What was he even going to say? Who was he going to use it on? Mei? Pigsy? Tang? Monkey King?</p><p>No, Tang never answered numbers not saved in his phone. And Mk didn't know Monkey King's number or if he even had a phone.</p><p>He danced around the room, ecstatic, before diving under the covers of the bed to pretend to be asleep when he heard footsteps coming down the hall.</p><p>The door opened and closed. Mk kept himself wrapped up in the blanket, pretending to be asleep already. Macaque patted Mk's head as he passed, gently ruffling his hair before making his way to the couch.</p><p>Something large hopped up onto the bed, the mattress dipping beneath its weight. Mk stiffened, but whatever it was plopped down against him and curled up. He reached out and felt soft fur, and he smiled as Lóng's tail wagged as he pet her.</p><p>Mk stayed up for a good portion of the night before passing out, petting Lóng while the dog laid next to him, and trying to figure out what he would say. By the time he'd woken up, it was already almost noon. </p><p>He hurried out, half of him grateful for being able to sleep in, the other half confused as to why he'd been allowed to, and rushed to the kitchen.</p><p>Macaque was seated there, as usual, huddled over a mug of coffee. He greeted the teen with a grunt of acknowledgement.</p><p>Mk rushed over, practically hopping in place.</p><p>"The phone call!" He chirped. "The phone, the phone, the phone! You promised I could call them if I just did one thing!"</p><p>"It can wait," Macaque said. </p><p>"N-" Mk cut himself off before he could say no to Macaque- "please? Right now! Right now, right now! How long do I get to talk? Are there certain things I can't talk about or can I just talk-"</p><p>"Sit," Macaque said. "Breakfast first."</p><p>"But- I mean yep! Yep, sitting down!" </p><p>Mk practically vibrated in his seat as Macaque retrieved a plate from the microwave and set it down in front of him. The human scarfed it down, barely tasting any of it and almost choking at one point. Macaque looked a little funny with his fur poofed up like it now was, at least.</p><p>That would have been embarassing, Mk figured. To go through all the trouble of snatching Monkey King's successor out from under the Great Sage's very nose, only for that same successor to choke to death right in front of you for the crime of over-enthusiastic pancake eating.</p><p>He threw his silverware down the second he was done, and then stood up on the chair, leaning his hands on the table.</p><p>"Done!" Mk said. "Now what is it that I have to do so I can call them?"</p><p>"Kid, why don't we watch some tv or something? The thing, it- it can wait."</p><p>"Mac- Master," Mk said. "You don't understand. I need to make that phone call. I need to. Please."</p><p>The monkie cursed and stood.</p><p>"Alright. Alright, follow me. Let's get this over with."</p><p>Mk followed, almost stepping on Macaque's heels a few times by accident. His excitement took a hit when they stopped in front of the basement door.</p><p>"You're going to kill her," Macaque said. "That's what I need you to do."</p><p>Mk's head went blank. He stopped hopping around and stared up at Macaque, barely breathing.</p><p>"It's not easy," Macaque said. "It gets easier, but I'm warning you now that the first time you kill someone it… fuck it, kid, you'll figure it out soon. But you'll get your call, okay? I promise I'll let you call your friends as long as you don't give too much details about where we are or what we've been doing."</p><p>Macaque's tail lashed after a few minutes of silence.</p><p>"Stop. Stop just- don't just stand there like that!" </p><p>Mk didn't blink until the monkie was suddenly in his face, hands tight almost to the point of being painful on his shoulders.</p><p>"Mk," Macaque said. "Your target is going to run when I open that door. Take it down. Take it down and make sure it never gets back up. Do you understand? Mk! Mk, breathe!"</p><p>Mk gasped, drawing air into his burning lungs. He backpedaled, stumbling back, but Macaque pulled him back by the shoulders.</p><p>"I know," Macaque said. "I know. It's- this is too soon, you're not ready, we were supposed to start small and work our way up but we don't have a choice, okay?"</p><p>The monkie stood up straight and offered a shaky smile. After a deep breath, the monkie's smile cemented, and Mk wondered if he had imagined it.</p><p>"I mean… four mouths is a bit much anyways! And you made a promise. We had a deal. You can't just go back on our deal," Macaque said. </p><p>The monkie unlocked the basement door.</p><p>"Door's unlocked, you can make it a hunt! Make a game of it! I mean, I'm practically spoiling you here!" </p><p>Mk tried to slow his breathing, but they were coming out faster. He hugged himself, on the verge of hyperventilating.</p><p>"I- I can't-"</p><p>"You can. Think of what she has done. What she did to you. Make it easier," Macaque said. "Do not imagine her as one of your kind. She is an obstacle in your way. Only an obstacle. Get rid of it."</p><p>He swung the door open and stepped back, swinging the back door open with his tail.</p><p>"Get to the road before you're caught, and you live!" Macaque called down. "You get a headstart of two minutes. It starts now!"</p><p>He stepped back, the woman exploding out of the basement not even seconds later. She slammed against the wall in her rush, noticed the door, and was out it in a flash.</p><p>Macaque didn't look at Mk.</p><p>"Bring me her head," he said. "Or I kill the dog."</p><p>Mk shifted into a larger form, giving chase as a tiger. Behind him, Macaque was whistling a three note tune.</p><p>He returned hours later in a numb daze, his horrid prize in hand. For the first time in his life, his head was entirely blank. He felt far away. Miles away. Galaxies away.</p><p>Mk hadn't expected it to be so hard. Catching up, no, catching up had been sickeningly easy. But the rest…</p><p>The hating himself part. The disgust. The absolute rush of terror and adrenaline and guilt. </p><p>He'd expected that, in a way. </p><p>But for creatures so fragile, he hadn't expected it to be so hard to kill someone, once you actually tried.</p><p>He returned to the cabin in a daze, gripping the thing by the bloodied hair. It squeezed and oozed against his fingers like sludge, itching where the splatters dried. It felt like wet string. Heavier than he had expected.</p><p>Mk had never thought blood would be so sticky.</p><p>The sun had sank, despite having left before noon. Macaque stood in the doorway, leaning against it. The monkie's sharp teeth gleamed in the fading light as he grinned, and white bone flashed against Mk's eyelids.</p><p>The monkie took it from him, having to pry Mk's white knuckled grip off first, and examined it.</p><p>"Well done," Macaque praised. "I knew you had it in you. Maybe you really are just like Sun Wukong."</p><p>Mk opened his mouth and promptly puked on the monkie's shoes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ms. Keisha. Ms. Keisha!<br/>Oh my fuckin god she fuckin ded</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>One week after the... ordeal... Mk finally finds the strength to use his phone call</p><p>Tw: gore mention/animal death</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The world was dark. Dark in bloodied shades of red and black.</p><p>Mk waded through a swamp of blood, and it stuck to his striped fur, staining the orange and gold fur red. Trees loomed above him, dead branches reaching for a sky where no birds flew.</p><p>It was quiet.</p><p>The tiger's prey was ahead, a figure twitching like a loose limbed scarecrow up ahead, when he could have sworn she'd been running for her life. Hair sprouted and dripped like ink out of her head, into the water, churning it into froth, and then dark strands wrapped around his paws like tentacles.</p><p>He tugged his paws free, his ears pinned back against his head as his heartbeat quickened. Hair cut into his fur, tight against his skin. He snarled, lashing out against the water with his claws and only splattering the blood further across his pelt.</p><p>The figure's head turned on its neck, blank eyes staring in his direction before the entire being dropped like a ragdoll into the blood water.</p><p>Mk started to back up, his tail lashing. The big cat's head snapped back and forth, ears pricked for the slightest noise.</p><p>"You deserved it," Mk snarled, struggling to convince himself. "You locked me away! He told me! I know you locked me away!" </p><p>The thing exploded out beside him, taking the tiger down into the blood. He landed on his side, but the ground was gone, and he was choking on it, drowning on it.</p><p>His head broke the surface and he gasped, coughing and gasping. It pulled at him, trying to drag him down, and he felt her hair wrapping itself around his paws, dragging him down into the red ocean.</p><p>Mk opened his mouth to scream and only choked on blood.</p><p>He woke with a start, gasping for air he wasn't lacking. His hair was plastered against his head and the fillet, the blankets and sheets soaked with sweat.</p><p>Mk sat up, chest heaving as he tried to slow his breathing before it could turn into hyperventilating. Lóng raised her head from beside him, her tail thumping against the mattress, but he didn't look at her, moving his hand away when she ducked her head into his palm.</p><p>She whined. He ignored it.</p><p>Mk laid back down and pulled the covers back over himself. He closed his eyes, only to open them again seconds later as blank eyes stared at him from the back of his eyelids.</p><p>Mk rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Lóng rested her head on his chest and let out a sigh.</p><p>It had been a week.</p><p>And he could still see it everytime he closed his eyes.</p><p>A human body. Empty. An entire life, gone in a moment and leaving an empty husk.</p><p>An entire life lived. Lived and ended, ended brutally, every second of that woman's life leading up to her death. Her bloody, horrid death.</p><p>And for what?</p><p>At the hands, well, claws, of someone who dared to call himself a hero.</p><p>What sort of hero was he? Could he even call himself one anymore?</p><p>He could hear Macaque calling, and so rose practically on autopilot to make his way to training. </p><p>He still had Lóng. He had to take care of her dog. Had to at least manage that much.</p><p>Less than an hour after Mk was dragged out of bed, a hawk rode an updraft in the sky, eyes focused on a small rabbit far below as it lazily circled.</p><p>The rabbit seemed uncaring of the monkie nearby, in the shade of one of the trees. The hawk circled a few more times, watching the mammal sniff at a patch of clovers.</p><p>He swooped a little closer, making sure not to cast a shadow. </p><p>The monkie's eyes were on him, watching over the yard below carefully, but he was of no importance. </p><p>The sky was his. </p><p>And that rabbit would be, too.</p><p>The monkie started to whistle a three note tune, and the rabbit sat up, turning its head towards the monkie.</p><p>The hawk dropped into a dive, hurtling down towards the rabbit below. He flared his wings, letting out a screech of victory as his talons closed around his prize, and then he was skipping along the grass, the screaming and still squirming rabbit gripped tight in his talons.</p><p>The hawk lowered his beak and silenced his shrieking prey, digging in before the body had even cooled. The rabbit meat tasted brilliant to this form's taste buds, and the hawk instincts buzzing in his head rejoiced at a successful hunt.</p><p>"Less hesitation this time," Macaque spoke from the shade. "It didn't even notice until you had it. Well done."</p><p>The hawk's eating quickened, the only sign that he had even heard the monkie.</p><p>"Still not talking?" Macaque asked. "Childish. You can't rely on your form's instincts to always guide you."</p><p>The monkie marched over and reached for the rabbit, ignoring the hawk's angry squawking. The hawk released his prize and hopped out of reach.</p><p>"Can't talk on the phone if you can't talk," Macaque said. "And stop eating it! That's dinner you're hogging! If you didn't let the damn instincts control you, we wouldn't be having this problem!"</p><p>The hawk shook his tail feathers and let out an angry caw.</p><p>The monkie snarled, setting the hawk into a flurry of frantic flapping, but the anger didn't seem focused on him.</p><p>"I told them you weren't ready-" Macaque held out his arm and let out a short whistle, not seeming to notice the hawk dig his talons in a little harder than necessary as he landed- "but no. Two weeks. Not enough. This can't just be rushed and now look at you."</p><p>The hawk preened his feathers, making a point of seeming to have better things worth doing than listening.</p><p>"Little shit," Macaque said. "You'd better snap out of this shitty phase of yours soon, kid, because if their impatience cost me all of my time and effort, I'm going to be pissed."</p><p> Macaque walked into the house, not seeming to notice the hawk's smug demeanour at hitching a ride. When he thrust his arm towards the table, the hawk leaped off and fluttered onto the back of a chair.</p><p>"Change back."</p><p>Mk landed in the chair, blinking away the hawk's guiding instincts before turning to watch Macaque pull a dark wooden box out of one of the cupboards.</p><p>Macaque put the box down on the table and slid it towards him. He only stared at it.</p><p>"It's for you," Macaque said. "I'm proud of your progress. So… a gift."</p><p>Mk reached out and pulled it closer with some hesitation. He ran his fingers over the polished wood before flipping the clasp and pushing the lid up.</p><p>He stared at the skull smiling back at him for a long moment. With his eyes, he traced the long lines etched into the bone from where one of his paws had hit, the claws digging deep and sticking in the bone as he had taken her to the ground. </p><p>He'd tried to be fast. Had tried so hard.</p><p>But it had felt like she'd been gurgling for hours after he'd bitten through her throat, even as he'd continued to tear. His tongue itched. His throat burned. String pulled against his hands and caught in his teeth, blood warm on his muzzle.</p><p>He shut the lid and stared blankly at the box.</p><p>Macaque reached out and placed a yellowed skull on top of the box. </p><p>"You don't have to keep a prize from everything," Macaque said. "But the first one… the first life you take is special." </p><p>Mk reached out and froze. He glanced at Macaque, his hands hovering over the monkey skull. The monkie nodded, and Mk picked it up. The bone was smooth, chipped in a few places. He ran his fingers across its surface, staring at it.</p><p>"It is a reminder," Macaque told him. "A reminder that you are strong."</p><p>The monkie tapped a finger against the box.</p><p>"It is a reminder that it could have been you, instead," Macaque said softly. "Life is a war. You must win as many of its battles as you can. Do you understand?"</p><p>Mk put the skull down and watched as Macaque picked the skull up with more care than Mk had seen him ever treat anything.</p><p>"She is not worth your pain," Macaque said. "She has let go of life, and so you must let go of her. What good did she ever do for you?"</p><p>"Her life wasn't mine to take," Mk rasped.</p><p>Macaque seemed surprised for all of a second before regaining his composure.</p><p>"When you are strong?" Macaque spoke. "When you are strong, everything is yours for the taking. You just have to be strong enough to take it."</p><p>The monkie pushed the box closer.</p><p>"You have strength inside of you," Macaque said. "Do not shun it. Embrace it."</p><p>The monkie pulled a cell phone out and put it on the table.</p><p>"Are you ready now, Mk?"</p><p>Mk stared at the phone. It sat between them, silent and still.</p><p>He took a deep breath and grabbed it, after the minutes drew silent between them. The weight of it felt odd in his hand. It turned on without trouble.</p><p>Mk made his way to the number pad, and punched the number in almost on autopilot. His heart pounding in his chest hard enough to burst, he hesitated only once before pressing the call button and holding it to his ear.</p><p>It dialed. Rang. Rang again. Mk felt like his heart would stop. </p><p>And then it picked up.</p><p>"What part of closed after three can you not understand?" A voice boomed through the speaker. "None of you can read? Pigsy's Noodles is closed after three and on weekends until further notice! It's right on the sign! If I get one more call about-"</p><p>Mk nearly choked on the happiness that filled him at hearing that familiar yelling. Pigsy yelled often, but it had never felt scary, not at all like when Macaque did. Not even close.</p><p>And Pigsy had never, in all of the time that Mk had known him, hurt him even once.</p><p>"Hi, Pigsy," he said. </p><p>The line went silent.</p><p>"…Mk?"</p><p>Mk felt his eyes begin to burn. He took a deep breath, and felt something other than guilt for the first time in days.</p><p>"Y-yeah," he said, almost laughing. "Yeah, Pigsy, it's… it's me. It's Mk."</p><p>"Where are you, I'll come-"</p><p>"I can't come home," Mk said. "I'm not allowed to leave."</p><p>Silence. A deep breath.</p><p>"Who?" Pigsy growled.</p><p>Mk sent a glance at Macaque. The monkie said nothing, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. But Mk could see his ears, angled towards the human, listening.</p><p>"I… I'm not allowed to tell you," Mk said. "But- but he's letting me call to let you guys know that I'm okay."</p><p>Pigsy was quiet for a moment before speaking again.</p><p>"Has he hurt you?"</p><p>"…No."</p><p>"Don't lie to me, kid, I know you."</p><p>Mk bit his lip, glancing again at Macaque before looking away.</p><p>"Nothing I can't handle," Mk lied. "I'm okay."</p><p>"Anything inappropriate?" </p><p>"No! No, no he hasn't- that's not what this is, it's- it's not that demon marriage kidnapping thing," Mk said. "It's more of a monkie kid thing, I think. Yeah. A monkie… thing."</p><p>A sigh of relief on the other side. </p><p>Mk wondered if Pigsy had noticed Mk's hesitation. He hoped he had.</p><p>"Good. I'd kill him. I might still kill him. No, I will still kill him! But you're okay, kid?"</p><p>"Well, the mountains were pretty cold, but these ones don't have snow like those did," Mk said after a moment. "I saw some bats a few days ago through a window, and that was pretty cool. They looked like those painted bats, you remember, that time you took me camping in the mountains? I got scared hearing them and was so scared that they would follow us back and you said-"</p><p>"They don't come as far as the city," Pigsy said. "Yeah. Yeah, kid, I remember."</p><p>"I really miss you guys," he said softly. </p><p>"We miss you, too, Mk," Pigsy said. "You tell that jerk he's making you miss work."</p><p>Mk laughed, and rubbed a few stray tears away.</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>"And I'm gonna kick my foot so far up his ass he'll be spitting out my hooves."</p><p>Mk smiled, a real one. </p><p>Macaque held his hand out.</p><p>"He says I have to give him back the phone now... Love you, Pigsy."</p><p>"Love you, too, kid," Pigsy said. "Hang in there. We'll have you home if it's the last damned thing I do."</p><p>"If- if something happens to me, I need you to know that- I need you all to know you're the best family I ever had. P-"</p><p>Macaque took the phone from Mk's hand and pressed the end call button.</p><p>But even with the abrupt end, Mk's smile stayed for the rest of the day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ch11 is coming...</p><p>Tw: somebody gets mauled</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The forest, again. </p><p>Skeletal animals crept through the bushes, their empty eye sockets staring at him as he passed. The ground was dry, dead leaves crackling beneath his paws.</p><p>Mk licked his sandpaper tongue across his muzzle and tasted iron. He looked to his paws and saw them stained with blood. He was soaked to his belly fur in red, and it clashed against his gold striped fur.</p><p>"This is getting old," he called to the shadows.</p><p>He stepped forward, and something crunched beneath his weight. </p><p>Bones. Animal and human. He looked up, and all of the branches held leering skulls.</p><p>"I cannot change my choice," he said. "Show yourself, witch!"</p><p>One of the trees moved, wooden bones cracking and snapping as it twisted towards him. The bark constricted, a long and thorn toothed grin forming in the trunk. It ripped its feet out, snapping into a mockery of a humanoid shape, and grabbed one of the skulls from the trees, shoving it through one of the branches on what seemed to be a neck.</p><p>It started towards him, a glowing fog igniting within the skull's eye sockets, legs snapping and reforming as it walked like a newborn calf. It didn't speak. No words, but for a raspy clicking and hissing noise, moaning into the night.</p><p>And then it spoke, a raspy croak from its grinning maw.</p><p>"Weak..."</p><p>"I am strong," Mk snarled, backing away. "I am not weak!"</p><p>"Coward…"</p><p>"Leave me alone!" Mk roared. "You are dead! I killed you, you're dead!"</p><p>The creature let out a creaking shriek and lunged, long wooden fingers reaching for him.</p><p>Mk yelped and scrambled back. The wooden claws scratched against his neck, and something caught and constricted around his throat, and he choked for all of a moment before something gave way with a loud snap.</p><p>He scrambled away, crying out as thorn bushes exploded from the ground. The branches felt like hair, the thorns like spikes, and they grabbed onto him. Constricting. Wrapping themselves tighter and tighter. </p><p>Helpless.</p><p>A long red bandana fluttered between the monster's fingers, soaked and dripping a darker red than its cloth. It turned to ashes in the beast's hands, the particles scattering in the air.</p><p>"Dead…" the creature rasped, and the thorns tightened around Mk's throat, choking his cries into silence.</p><p>Then he was finally screaming aloud, the thorns digging into his arms but gone from his throat and his legs His eyes flew open to see Macaque looming over him, and he shrieked, scrambling back so quickly that the hands on his arms almost scratched him.</p><p>Macaque stared at him, silent as Mk sobbed. Then the monkie sighed and crawled in beside him, pulling the human against his chest and humming. </p><p>Mk shut his eyes tight and dug his hands into the monkie's fur. Trembling even as the monkie ran his hands through the human's hair, his tail curling around Mk's ankles as Macaque rested his chin on the top of Mk's head.</p><p>If he tried hard enough, he could pretend he was hugging Monkey King instead.</p><p>Mk didn't know if Macaque knew Mk would only hug him to pretend, even for just a moment, that he wasn't here. Mk wasn't sure if he even cared whether Macaque knew or not.</p><p>He'd almost managed to make himself believe it before he opened his eyes to black fur instead.</p><p>Macaque was grooming him, now, picking the tangles out of Mk's hair. He was less hesitant than the first time, so long ago now. The monkie seemed to be starting to get the hang of it without having to watch the monkeys do it on tv.</p><p>Mk still would rather tell the monkie to buzz off, if he could.</p><p>The monkie put something in his hands, smooth and hard. He recognized it for what it was the moment his fingers caught against a groove.</p><p>Mk held the skull in his hands, clutching it close and running his fingers across the gouges from his claws, still trembling. Macaque was still humming, a soft almost purr coming from the monkie's rumbling chest.</p><p>Mk fell asleep soon enough, pretending it was a different monkie soothing him, and he dreamed of better days. Rather than the blood forest that had haunted him for more than a week, he dreamed of Flower Fruit Mountain.</p><p>He woke up alone, tucked into the bed, still clutching the skull tight to his chest. </p><p>Lóng wasn't in the room, and neither was Macaque. That by now familiar anxiety ignited within his chest and he hurried out of bed and out the door. </p><p>He found only Macaque, the monkie devoid of the bandage that had been on his hand from being bitten. Had it healed already? Mk stared at the hand in question, but couldn't see so much as a mark.</p><p>Mk searched desperately around for Lóng, circling back to fidget anxiously around Macaque every time being alone in his search became too much. He checked out the windows, and even wandered close to the basement door before retreating before he'd even reached the door.</p><p>He approached Macaque carefully, backing away every few steps before finally getting the courage to go up to the monkie, who barely looked up from his lunch. He must have let Mk sleep in, again, and the idea of the strict monkie having allowed him to do so set Mk on edge.</p><p>"Master?" Mk tentatively asked.</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"Wh-" he cut himself off before he could ask one of the sort of questions that usually made Macaque mad, and phrased it as carefully as he could- "I haven't seen my dog today."</p><p>"The mastiff?" Macaque asked. "It ran out."</p><p>"Out?" </p><p>Mk ran back to the back door, peering out. The fence was on the shorter side, sure, and there was still a hole from him tearing through it, but the dog had never run away before.</p><p>"Mk, calm down," Macaque said from behind him. "It'll come back when it gets hungry."</p><p>"She ran out?"</p><p>"Yeah-" the Macaque motioned towards the bent part of the fence, where Mk had nearly taken it out as a tiger- "got through and took off."</p><p>Mk reached for the doorknob, and Macaque smacked his hand away.</p><p>"Staying inside today," Macaque said. "Come on, we can take it easy while we wait."</p><p>"Wait?" Mk asked. "For who?"</p><p>"Don't question me," Macaque growled. "Come."</p><p>Macaque turned his back to Mk and beckoned for him to follow, and Mk watched for all of a moment, anxiety eating away at him.</p><p>Lóng had gone towards where the woman had been running. </p><p>"Okay," Mk said. </p><p>"Good," Macaque said. "I found this show we can watch together and-"</p><p>Mk turned the doorknob slowly. Macaque was still walking away, talking as he did so.</p><p>A deep breath.</p><p>Another.</p><p>And then he whipped the door open and bolted, changing into tiger form before his feet had even hit the grass.</p><p>There was a startled shout behind him, but he had already barreled through the old wood of the fence, racing for the undergrowth like a bat out of hell.</p><p>He could hear Macaque racing after him, and then his ears were full of the snapping and splitting of plants as they were shoved out of the way of hundreds of pounds of tiger. Branches snagged at his fur, and he barely felt the sting of the sharper rocks beneath his feet, and then it was easier as he fell into a path that had been stomped down already. No, not stomped. Barreled through.</p><p>It was sickeningly familiar. </p><p>But he wasn't the one chasing anymore.</p><p>He could smell the trail in the air soon enough. Lóng had come this way, looking for her owner, following the scent.</p><p>He snarled and turned, cutting a new path, leading away from Lóng and the makeshift grave he had done his best to dig. He cut in an adjacent direction and followed through the underbrush, along a creek that soon became a widening river.</p><p>He leaped over a group of bramblebushes and landed along the bank, nearly slipping on the stones. Mk got his feet beneath him and took for the water, some long ago fact about tigers and water swimming in the back of his head alongside the tiger brain roaring in his head.</p><p>His paws had just brushed against the edge of the raging river before a weight crashed into him. </p><p>The tiger and monkie both went down in a flurry of limbs and shrieks, not stopping until Mk got his hind legs under him and threw the now smaller figure off of him.</p><p>Macaque flew into a tree, grunting as he smacked hard enough into the plant for the trunk to creak. Mk lunged for him, the tiger shrieking in excitement inside of him as he got his jaws around the monkie's neck and dragged him to the ground.</p><p>He shook his head, shaking Macaque like a ragdoll. Claws dug against Mk's muzzle, choked gasps slipping from the monkie's mouth as he was strangled between the big cat's teeth.</p><p>Mk snarled and tightened his grip. There was a squeak before Macaque couldn't breathe anymore, the monkie's chest heaving. The hands digging at his face began to weaken, and Mk let go, letting the monkie drop into the dirt, not wanting to give up his victory, not now when the sweet taste of vengeance was warm against his tongue and dripping from where Mk had caught the monkie with his teeth by accident.</p><p>The tiger circled the monkie, listening to him gasp for breath. He licked his bloody muzzle and swatted at the downed monkie before jumping away.</p><p>"Monkie got your tongue?" Mk growled.</p><p>The monkie tried to get up. Mk lunged forward, biting hard on Macaque's tail and yanking the monkie around like a toy. The woods erupted into shrieks, and then Macaque was speaking. He'd barely gotten the first half of the incantation out before Mk had thrown him into another tree.</p><p>"Say it," Mk snarled. "Say it! Go on, say it!"</p><p>Macaque opened his mouth. Mk tore into him with teeth and claws, and let the gasping monkie drop into the dirt before hopping away.</p><p>He circled the monkie again. </p><p>"You're right," Mk said. "It does get easier."</p><p>Macaque stared up at him, his eyes wide. Mk wondered if that's how he had looked, so long ago when Macaque had first betrayed him.</p><p>The tiger grumbled in delight at the expression of hurt and pain on the monkie's face.</p><p>"Did you honestly think I cared about you?" Mk snarled. "I don't hate you… I despise you!"</p><p>The tiger lunged forward, burying his teeth into the monkie's arm and shaking his head from side to side. Macaque cried out, free hand scrabbling at the tiger's face, and Mk released him and returned to his circling, blood dripping from his muzzle.</p><p>"You kidnapped me! Hurt me! Turned me into a monster! This is your own fault!" Mk roared. "Not so fun, being the weak one, is it? You're pathetic!"</p><p>He lunged, snapping his jaws inches from the monkie, retreating with a laugh at the monkie's flinch.</p><p>"Nobody cares about you, Macaque. And now? Now nobody ever will. Because I'm free. I'm free and nobody is ever going to hurt me again."</p><p>Mk snarled again and pounced. Macaque gasped as the tiger's claws bit into his shoulders, the monkie's back slamming into the dirt.</p><p>"Ever wonder what the fillet feels like?" Mk asked. "Let me show you."</p><p>He grabbed the monkie's head in his jaws and bit down.</p><p>And Macaque turned to golden dust in his mouth.</p><p>Mk choked on it, stumbling back, staring in horror at the remains of a clone.</p><p>And behind him? </p><p>Behind him, the real Macaque said the incantation.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Some of you may die but that is a sacrifice i am willing to make</p><p>Tw: asphyxiation</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For a long moment, Macaque could only stand and watch his kid writhe and sob into the rocks and dirt.</p><p>Mk had lost his form, falling into his human form under the pain of the fillet. Macaque crouched down beside him and ran a hand through the kid's hair, a mockery of the gentle grooming it was normally used for, and then tightened his hand in his kid's hair and tugged him forward.</p><p>"You want the river so bad?" Macaque hissed. </p><p>His kid didn't close his mouth in time, when Macaque shoved his head under the water. Macaque yanked him back up, and his kid coughed and dug his hands into Macaque's. Macaque didn't lose his grip.</p><p>He'd known it was too soon to give the kill order. </p><p>He'd put his kid into a fragile state. Perfect to mold into the perfect weapon he knew his kid had the potential to be. And they had ruined it. Forced his hand. They had ruined his kid.</p><p>Maybe it was better this way. He could retreat to his former plan, scratch out his kid entirely. Try again. He'll do better with Wukong. He won't mess it up like he did with his kid.</p><p>Macaque pressed a kiss to Mk's forehead. His kid's hair was plastered against his face, and Macaque gently moved it out of his eyes and said the incantation to make the fillet cease.</p><p>Mk stared up at him, his eyes full of tears, hands grasping for his arm. </p><p>Macaque let go of his kid's hair and smoothed it out. </p><p>It wasn't his kid's fault, he knew. It was theirs. Rushing him. Forcing Macaque to push too far.</p><p>That fucking bitch.</p><p>His poor kid. He could have been Macaque's greatest achievement. </p><p>Macaque hadn't expected it to hurt like this. To hurt this much. He pressed one last kiss to his kid's forehead and then put him back under the water.</p><p>Mk struggled, movements becoming panicked when it became clear to him that Macaque wasn't going to bring him back up. Smaller hands scrambled at Macaque's hands and arms, legs kicking so hard Macaque had to force those down, too.</p><p>It took longer than Macaque had expected for his kid to begin to weaken. His hands scrabbled at Macaque's one last time before he simply grabbed onto Macaque's arm, his grip weak.</p><p>And then his kid's mouth opened and took in water. Macaque watched as Mk's eyes slipped shut, and his grip went limp. Macaque felt wetness on his cheeks. He didn't have the courage to check if it was tears.</p><p>It hurt. </p><p>It hurt too much.</p><p>Too much! </p><p>Macaque gasped and yanked his kid up, hauling him onto the bank. The little body was still, and Macaque yanked his kid's mouth open, plugged the boy's nose, and forced air into his kid's lungs.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>What was he doing, what was he doing-</p><p>Macaque snarled and turned his attention to the motionless chest. Something gave with a crack beneath his hands. He'd never done this before. Were ribs supposed to crack when attempting CPR?</p><p>"Come on, you little shit," Macaque snarled. "Come on!"</p><p>He pinched his kid's nose and breathed for him, growling when nothing happened. He switched his attention back to pumping the kid's chest, wincing every time he felt something else give under the force.</p><p>He tried to breathe for his kid again and suddenly felt the body beneath him jerk. Macaque had barely managed to turn Mk onto his side before his kid was puking up water onto the ground.</p><p>He rubbed his kid's back, closing his eyes and letting out a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. Mk began to sob and wail, shivering from cold and fear, and cradling his chest. For once, Macaque welcomed the human's pathetic mewling.</p><p>He scooped his kid up into his arms and started the trek back to the cabin, clutching his kid close to him and petting his hair in an attempt to calm the human down. </p><p>First things first, he needed to stop putting off the tracker enchantment, in case something like this happened and he wasn't able to find Mk in time, and then he needed to get his kid cleaned and warmed up. He should have never left, but he hadn't exactly expected to come back to that scene. Macaque made a mental note to never get the kid a babysitter that wasn't expendable.</p><p>His kid's words echoed endlessly in his head the entire way. The sight of the clone's bloody form was burnt onto the back of his eyelids.</p><p>The kid's hands grabbed hold of his fur. </p><p>Macaque looked down. His kid had his eyes squeezed shut, breathing through his mouth into the monkie's fur. He had thought it was just the most comfortable for the kid, but now?</p><p>Now he wondered if maybe the kid kept his face turned away because Macaque didn't smell of peaches.</p><p>Manipulative little shit.</p><p>Maybe his kid was more like Macaque than he had ever even considered.</p><p>The thought made something warm bloom in his chest.</p><p>Pride.</p><p>His kid was broken, now, pushed too far. Macaque would have to spend the last few days before they had to go trying to put Mk back together enough to function. </p><p>And put a stop to his kid cementing Wukong with comfort. For now, Macaque left his kid to his game of pretend.</p><p>He'd have to be alert. His kid was dangerous, but he wasn't ready to be trusted to be loyal, and so was the wrong kind of dangerous. And once he was loyal, once he could be trusted, Macaque could take back the fillet and turn his attention to Sun Wukong, at last.</p><p>Maybe they'd come back to this cabin, the three of them, when all was said and done. When both came around.</p><p>Macaque smiled at the picture in his head. Him and Wukong, living off of the land, his- no, their- kid running around. Mk would like that. Macaque knew that he would.</p><p>Family.</p><p>His smile widened at the thought. </p><p>The smile fell when he heard the whining. </p><p>His ears twitched, and he paused. It came again, soft and mournful.</p><p>The dog. </p><p>Macaque followed the noise, and found the animal soon enough. Her tail gave a few dejected thumps in the dirt as he approached.</p><p>The area reeked of blood. Once he saw the mound of dirt the animal was laying on, he put two and two together and whistled until Fènghuáng's dog slowly stood. She walked to him with her head low, and he patted her head with his tail before wrapping it under and over her collar as a makeshift leash.</p><p>Macaque would always be grateful that Mk hadn't called his bluff about killing the dog.</p><p>Macaque stopped at his truck. Well, what had been Fènghuáng's truck, but it wasn't like she was going to use it anymore. He'd barely known the human, having barged in and made himself at home at the first house he'd come across and all, but he couldn't help being grateful for all she had left behind her. </p><p>It had been a long time since he had had a home. The three of them would be happy here. Room for the kid to run around in, a nice home, a dog. It was almost picture perfect.</p><p>He settled Mk down in the backseat and opened the duffle he'd left on the floor. </p><p>He pulled the four medallions out, admiring the metalwork, the same design as the one he'd put on his kid's jacket so long ago, before pressing one each against the underside of his kid's forearms. The kid didn't so much as twitch as Macaque wrapped gauze around his arms to make sure they stayed in place. If it hadn't been for the soft rise and fall of the human's chest, he would have wondered if his kid had gone and died on him anyways.</p><p>Next were his own. He cut the gauze with his teeth, then braced himself before reciting the incantation he'd been given.</p><p>His arms lit up in white hot agony, as if a thousand wasps had made a nest under his skin, stinging ceaselessly. Macaque couldn't stop his hiss of pain as he clenched his eyes shut and cut into the seat with his hands, and beside him the kid spasmed and started to sob again. </p><p>It was over soon, leaving him with nothing more than phantom pain and the sound of his kid's tears. Macaque paused to breathe a few times before opening his eyes, taking a moment to adjust to suddenly being able to sense where Mk was. </p><p>The monkie unwrapped the gauze, running his fingers over the new burn scars, his own mark grinning up at him from his forearms where the medallions had dissolved into his skin. No doubt the kid would have matching scars, now, if he checked.</p><p>Mk had started to quiet down again aside from soft crying, and Lóng had settled herself in on the floor, seeming to know better than to hop up onto Mk. Macaque pat her head, and she gave a few wags of her tail.</p><p>Macaque left the bandages on Mk for now and moved to pick him back up.</p><p>Lóng raised her head, ears perked up. Macaque eyed her for a moment before twitching his own ears, focusing. </p><p>The creak of a door hit a few of his ears.</p><p>The cabin was the only thing with a door in miles, other than the truck.</p><p>"Stay," he murmured.</p><p>Lóng whined but remained where she was. </p><p>Macaque closed the door as quietly as he could, creeping out of the underbrush and eyeing the cabin, not too far away. He fanned his ears out, moving them around to pick up the slightest sound. </p><p>A scuff. Near silent. A heartbeat. Faint.</p><p>Macaque eased his breathing down and crouched a little, moving forward slowly. Over the broken fence, and through the backyard up to the fence. He hovered outside the door, once he reached it, before opening it as softly as he could.</p><p>The basement door was open. </p><p>Macaque's fur stood up on end, tail lashing as it fluffed up. He eyed the empty doorway before lifting his head and sniffing the air.</p><p>Peaches.</p><p>The air smelled like peaches.</p><p>His eyes widened and he turned on a dime, listening carefully. His increased heartbeat could not be helped, but at least few had hearing as fine tuned as his. Macaque took a deep breath as quietly as he could manage, biting down a grin. </p><p>And then the floor wasn't beneath him anymore.</p><p>He landed on his back hard, but he'd been prepared  and breathed out before he hit, avoiding getting the wind knocked out of him.</p><p>Macaque twisted, wrapping his tail around Wukong's ankles and yanking. The other monkie didn't fall, catching himself on the very staff Macaque was certain he had told Mk to retrieve from the basement on ten seperate occasions, and spun on it, planting his boots into Macaque's face hard enough to send him into the nearest wall.</p><p>Wukong's hands twisted in the collar of his tunic shirt and yanked him up the wall, the other monkie getting in his face, fangs bared and gleaming.</p><p>"You're adorable when you're angry," Macaque said.</p><p>It earned him an elbow to the gut, and then he was being yanked back up from where he'd doubled over.</p><p>Macaque spit out a mouthful of blood from the kick to the face, smirk never leaving his face as he turned his eyes to meet the golden orbs glaring into him.</p><p>"Where is he?" Wukong snarled.</p><p>"That's what this is about?" </p><p>Wukong's growl rumbled from deep in his chest.  </p><p>"Where's my kid!" </p><p>"Our kid, you mean?"</p><p>Wukong hissed, baring his teeth again. </p><p>Macaque brought his knees up between them and kicked. Wukong stumbled, and Macaque put distance between them, dodging the staff that extended and punched a hole through the wall. It would have punched through him, if he hadn't moved out of the way fast enough.</p><p>The two stood at a standstill, Wukong glaring and Macaque beaming.</p><p>"Show yourself around?" Macaque asked.</p><p>Wukong snarled and reached down, unwrapping a red and yellow cloth from his waist and throwing it down between them.</p><p>The kid's jacket. </p><p>"Somebody explored the basement," Macaque said.</p><p>Wukong grit his teeth and raised his head to stare down on Macaque. He looked every bit the regal, handsome Monkey King. Golden fur, golden armor. Golden.</p><p>The bloody, ragged red cloth wrapped tightly around one of his arms kind of set off the image, though.</p><p>"New look?" Macaque asked. "Doesn't match too well. Looks like you pulled it out of a trashcan."</p><p>Wukong stared him down before reaching down and untying it. He held it up, as if it should mean something.</p><p>"Still looks like you pulled it out of a trashcan, darling," Macaque purred.</p><p>Wukong snarled and clenched the cloth in a white knuckled fist.</p><p>"Where is Mk?" Wukong growled.</p><p>Macaque glanced back at the cloth as Wukong wrapped it back around his forearm, tying it tightly, and he recognized it now. The kid's stupid bandana thing. </p><p>"You know what happens, don't you?" Macaque asked. "Lions don't keep the last mane's cubs around when he takes a pride."</p><p>"You're not a lion, and you've taken no pride," Wukong roared. "The blood is old, but his scent is fresh! I know he's alive!"</p><p>Macaque reached to summon his shadow staff, but Wukong didn't give him the chance. </p><p>The other monkie slammed Macaque into the wall, staff extending and forced up against his neck. Macaque wheezed and pushed, trying to get some air.</p><p>"It's just one kid, Wukong. I mean… we could always make our own-"</p><p>Wukong's knee went where no knee should go at the speed and force with which no knee had any right to be going. Macaque would have been embarassed at how high of a note escaped him, but the fact that it brought him down to the ground in a wheezing ball was a tad more humiliating.</p><p>Wukong slammed the end of the staff into Macaque's chest, forcing him down to squirm on the ground.</p><p>"If the next word out of your mouth isn't about where the fuck my fucking kid is, I swear to Heaven I will neuter you the slow way."</p><p>"Okay!" Macaque squeaked. "Holy shit on a stick, holy fuck, ow! Okay, okay! I'll take you to the kid, just take a damn chill pill, oww."</p><p>Wukong stepped back, eyeing him as he got to his feet. </p><p>He still felt like he was going to puke. Gods, he'd felt that hit all the way up in his throat.</p><p>Macaque took his time, thoughts racing for a plan and backtracking through anything out of the ordinary of the past weeks. Nobody should have been able to find them.</p><p>"Follow me," Macaque said.</p><p>"Any sudden moves and I'm taking a little off the top," Wukong warned. "Keep your hands up, asshole."</p><p>There. An idea.</p><p>"You sure the kid has the time?"</p><p>Wukong's eyes narrowed.</p><p>Macaque turned and walked, holding his head up high as he led Wukong out and into the woods.</p><p>"You know…"</p><p>"Shut up."</p><p>Macaque rolled his eyes and talked anyways.</p><p>"He reminds me of you," Macaque said. "And he reminds me of myself. I see us both in him. He's like the kid we never had the pleasure of maki-"</p><p>The end of the staff jabbed into his back hard enough to leave a bruise.</p><p>"He's nothing like you."</p><p>"Manipulative. Sly. I could go on. The kid's dumb, but he's slick about it. It was the phone call, wasn't it? Little shit tipped you guys off somehow, didn't he? That's a mistake I won't be allowing again."</p><p>"You're right," Wukong growled. "Because whether or not you get out of this alive depends on whether or not you've so much as scratched my kid. You had better hope he's alright because if he isn't-"</p><p>"Calm down, mother bear," Macaque laughed. "And you mean <em>our</em> kid."</p><p>Wukong snarled. Macaque remembered how red the jacket had been and so let the error drop.</p><p>"Sometimes you have to play a little rough with infants, to get them to understand how things are," Macaque said. "Have you learned nothing from your monkeys?"</p><p>"He's fucking eighteen, prick. He's not a monkey infant," Wukong said. </p><p>"Isn't he?"</p><p>Another jab from the staff. Macaque almost stumbled, but managed to keep his feet.</p><p>They were nearing it, now. Macaque felt a tinge of sadness, knowing that he and Wukong would have to go their separate ways once more, soon.</p><p>"He is, though," Macaque said. "Like you. When you were younger. Better. Stronger. And he's like me. I see more of it every day."</p><p>"Mk isn't anything close," Wukong said. "He's better than either of us could ever be. He's a good kid."</p><p>"Did you know he goes for the throat when he kills?" </p><p>Wukong's footfalls froze.</p><p>Macaque's grin grew until it nearly hurt to hold.</p><p>"He's got a real thirst for it, once he got the hang of it," Macaque said. "Sure, the first decapitation was a bit messy but-"</p><p>"I'm not up to listening to your bullshit!" Wukong snapped. "I know better than to trust a single word you say!"</p><p>"Bullshit? Please! Kid's ruthless, when you push him enough. I'm very proud of his progress," Macaque continued. "Let the fillet run long enough and-"</p><p>Wukong let out a choked noise. </p><p>"You lie."</p><p>Macaque grinned and echoed the incantation before turning his grin towards Wukong's pale face.</p><p>Pain flickered across the handsome king's expression, and he closed his eyes, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides as he tried to calm himself.</p><p>"Give me one reason not to kill you right now."</p><p>"I'm the only one who knows where he is," Macaque grinned, activating the marks and letting the power turn his eyes white. A flash of white in the corner of his eye, back towards the truck. The kid was still where he'd left him. </p><p>"You've hurt him," Wukong accused. "You have hurt my kid."</p><p>The other monkie's eyes looked wet. Was the great Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, about to cry over this?</p><p>Macaque didn't know whether to find it sad or hilarious.</p><p>"I've taught him," Macaque said.</p><p>"To you there is no difference."</p><p>Macaque turned and continued walking, beckoning to Wukong to follow. The Monkey King followed, a reaper at Macaque's back, waiting for the first sign of opportunity. </p><p>Opportunity that Macaque would not allow him.</p><p>"Why him?" Wukong broke the silence before it had even fallen. "Besting me is always your goal. So what's changed?"</p><p>"He looks at you like you hung the damn stars in the sky, doesn't he?" Macaque asked. "When I was co-teaching him, he looked at me like that, too."</p><p>"Co-teaching?" Wukong scoffed. "You nearly killed him on that mountain!"</p><p>"I was aiming for you," Macaque admitted. "Back in the peach garden, when I took him."</p><p>Wukong's jaw snapped shut with an audible click.</p><p>"I went there with that fillet planning on catching you when your guard was down," Macaque said. "But I saw the kid looking at you like that, like you were the most important person he'd ever know. And I wanted that back."</p><p>"Shouldn't have ruined it, then," Wukong said. "It's too late. Save what face you can and just get me my kid back, Macaque."</p><p>Macaque pushed through the last set of bent and broken foliage, blood still on some of the leaves. He stopped in front of Fènghuáng's grave and turned to face Wukong.</p><p>"Here," Macaque said.</p><p>Wukong glared around before sniffing the air, holding the staff before him, ready to use it at the drop of a pin.</p><p>Macaque nodded towards the grave.</p><p>"You know how it goes," Macaque said. "Sometimes it takes a little discipline to get them to understand. I was coming back for the shovel to dig him back up before he ran out of air but, well..."</p><p>Wukong's gaze turned horrified.</p><p>Hook. Line. </p><p>Sunk.</p><p>"I mean, you could always make a clone," Macaque said. "But does the kid have time? With the fillet on, well, he's probably running out of air even faster. So what's it going to be, old friend? Me? Or the kid? Decisions, decisions."</p><p>The Monkey King didn't hesitate, and neither did Macaque. Macaque was disappearing into the forest the second Wukong leapt onto the fresh grave, the other monkie already digging frantically. </p><p>Macaque glimpsed the look of frantic desperation on Wukong's face and left him there without hesitation. He didn't know how long it would take Wukong to discover he'd been tricked, which was pretty much until he reached however far Mk had buried the body, and as long as Macaque got out of there in time, he didn't care.</p><p>Macaque hoped the kid had had the six feet deep rule in mind, rather than a shallow grave.</p><p>Thank the gods for that little shit's big heart.</p><p>He'd have to squash it, of course. Get it through the stubborn thing's head what sort of world they truly lived in.  A cruel one. Where only the strongest will make it through.</p><p>He stopped for the kid's jacket and skull and made for the truck, pulling the underbrush it had been within out of the way. Considering no furious Wukong had come running, Macaque figured the handsome idiot was still digging.</p><p>Gods, how he wished he could have remained for the look on Wukong's face when he found whatever his kid had left of Fènghuáng.</p><p>His kid roused when Macaque started up the truck and pulled out, rubbing his eyes and letting out a cry as he moved. Definitely broke some ribs, then.</p><p>"Wh-" the kid cut himself off with a hiss.</p><p>"Shh," Macaque hushed. "Lay down, kiddo. Take it easy."</p><p>"Hur's."</p><p>"I bet," Macaque said. "Look at you. Don't you know how much it hurts me, when you make me do these things?"</p><p>His kid didn't answer. </p><p>Macaque looked up into the rearview mirror, but Mk's eyes were unfocused somewhere far out of sight.</p><p>The monkie turned anxious eyes to the horizon and stepped on the gas.</p><p>"Tell you what-" Macaque let an illusion fall over himself, twisting his shape- "want some help with that chest pain, kiddo? Turn into something small, like, uh, like a spider."</p><p>Mk stared at him.</p><p>"No ribs," Macaque said. "So they'll be fixed when you change back."</p><p>His kid closed his eyes and changed, shrinking down in a burst of light. Macaque reached back and scooped him up, tucking the brown and golden tarantula into the middle console.</p><p>When Wukong went blazing past minutes later, tearing the forest to its roots in his fury, he paid no attention to the truck upon finding only a 'human' and a dog inside.</p><p>And Macaque could only smile.</p><p>"Where are we going?" A small voice asked from within the middle console.</p><p>Macaque shot off a text on his phone informing of their early arrival before turning his eyes to the road.</p><p>"Home," Macaque told his kid. "We're going home."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Merry Christmas or, for those who don't celebrate it, happy holidays!!</p><p>Cw even tho it is canon in both the show and source material: mention/implications of demons eating people<br/>Also rats and blood</p><p>This chapter actually ended up really long so i split it into two and 13 is in workshop mode rn</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk was quickly beginning to hate the truck.</p><p>It was dark, where he'd been put, and he had too many legs than he knew what to do with.</p><p>He practiced moving around, but it was difficult when it was too dark to see. He almost went vertical when he accidentally climbed up, but he got scared and returned to the bottom instead.</p><p>It was almost a relief, when there was a click and then the area was filled with light. Macaque's hand looked as big as a truck, and Mk froze in terror as he was scooped up and placed on the passenger seat.</p><p>He changed back and stared down at his hands, reluctant to look at the monkie. Mk's throat ached, and his chest throbbed. The sharp and stabbing pain was gone, but he could feel the bruises and remnant pain still lingering.</p><p>It was a harsh reminder.</p><p>"We left," Mk said, hesitant to make noise.</p><p>Macaque didn't answer.</p><p>Mk peered out the window, but they seemed to be in some sort of stone parking lot.</p><p>"Where are we?" Mk felt his gut drop the second the words were out of his mouth. "I mean- n- I didn't mean to ask a-"</p><p>"Undermarket."</p><p>"The… Undermarket?"</p><p>"Yeah, Wukong probably never brought you here, huh? Not sure he even comes himself, not ever," Macaque said. "But you're going to need to change out of that shape if we're to get through here without trouble."</p><p>"My… shape?"</p><p>"You're gonna have to look like a demon, kiddo."</p><p>Mk wrung his hands and looked away again.</p><p>"I don't know how to do that."</p><p>Macaque glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Mk determinedly didn't meet the monkie's eye.</p><p>"Let me rephrase, kid," Macaque said. "Humans aren't allowed. And a demon walking around with some random kid is going to draw bad assumptions. So you're going to have to look like a monkie."</p><p>"Monkey?"</p><p>"Monkie."</p><p>Mk felt his breath catch, and closed his eyes, trying his best to focus. </p><p>He imagined being with his mentor. His real one. Chilling on Flower Fruit Mountain, monkeys chattering around him, Monkey King's fingers weaving through his hair in a grooming that was, for once, welcomed by the boy.</p><p>Imagined swinging through the trees, just like Monkey King could. </p><p>Imagined being able to call Monkey King his dad, and have it be true.</p><p>When Mk opened his eyes, Macaque was staring at him oddly. </p><p>"What's wrong?" Mk asked, shrinking as he felt his fear begin to rise back up.</p><p>"…Nothing," Macaque croaked, yanking his gaze away. "Good job. Come on, kiddo."</p><p>Mk reached for the handle of his door and froze, staring at his hand and arm.</p><p>His fur was dark, the same dark brown of his hair, black unless you saw it in the right light. With his other, also monkiefied hand, he stroked the surprisingly soft fur. </p><p>The bandages he'd woken up with on his arms had fur poking out the ends, but he let the bandages be lest it irritate Macaque.</p><p>With the clone's death and the memory of the water pressing in all around him, Mk shivered. No. No, irritating Macaque even the slightest bit was not something he planned on risking any time soon.</p><p>Mk caught his reflection in the sidemirror and paused, lifting his hand to the patch of red over his eyes and nose. The color was off, but…</p><p>He smiled.</p><p>It was the same shape as Monkey King's. </p><p>He fell more than stepped out of the truck, only kept from a painful landing by Macaque wrapping his tail around the younger monkie's middle and picking him up, putting him down on his feet.</p><p>Macaque cracked the windows for Lóng and locked the doors, slipping the key to a shadow clone he manifested to leave behind at the truck. Mk, in the meantime, looked to find what had tripped him up and saw something dark flicker in the corner of his eye. He turned around after it and felt his ears move to perk up as he chased the odd thing. </p><p>He finally caught it, catching the end of it in his hands. Mk felt his cheeks burn as he realised it was a tail. His tail.</p><p>There was an odd noise from behind him, and he jumped at the unfamiliar noise.</p><p>Macaque was laughing. A real one.</p><p>Mk had never heard him laugh like that before.</p><p>Macaque's tail wrapped around Mk's wrist and gave a soft tug, a soft smile still on his face. </p><p>The monkie grew serious once more as they approached a tunnel entrance, stopping outside of the tunnel in the rocks.</p><p>"You will adress me only as father, and you must stay quiet, do you understand?"</p><p>Mk stared at him. Was this dude serious?</p><p>"Demons have different ways than humans," Macaque said, answering unasked questions. "Any number of demons would snatch you up in a heartbeat in two of the three districts, and most of those demons would do so to prevent you from becoming a possible threat to them in the future. If they knew I have taken an apprentice, that risk would triple. You appear the demon equivalent of your human age, old enough to put up a fight, so there should be hesitation in the majority of demons. But you must call me father, and you must stick close, alright? You may ask one question."</p><p>"Does Monkey King know about this place?" </p><p>"Monkey King has never stepped foot within the Undermarket, and I doubt he ever will. I don't know if he knows about it, but he probably does."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"I said one question," Macaque said. "You need permission to use 'wh' words, Mk, and you had best get better at remembering that."</p><p>Mk nodded quickly.</p><p>"Yes, mast- f-father! Yes, father!"</p><p>The title felt weird on Mk's tongue.</p><p>Macaque nodded, seemingly appeased, and led the way into the cavern.</p><p>Mk followed, sticking close once they passed into the undermarket. </p><p>The cavern looked as big as the city he'd grown up in, lit with glowing gemstones, some as big as buildings, and others as small as his fingernail. Balls of light floated along on a nonexistent breeze, and Mk felt his breath catch in his throat. </p><p>He looked up. The diamonds and crystals in the ceiling far above could have been mistaken for stars if he hadn't known better.</p><p>One of the orbs of glowing light floated past, and Mk took a few steps towards it, reaching out for it. Macaque yanked him back and swatted him with a scolding hiss, and Mk did his best to look suitably chastised. He reached for it again the second Macaque wasn't looking, and the swat to the nose he got for his efforts was a lot harder than the first one.</p><p>There were demons everywhere! He caught sight of a vendor selling human organs and practically threw himself into Macaque, clinging tightly to the monkie. An arm wrapped around him, pulling him closer. </p><p>Mk had grown up in a city, sure, but it had only been him and Macaque for ages. Just himself for what felt like an eternity before that. All of these demons crowded all around them was beginning to make him feel overwhelmed. </p><p>If Macaque noticed, he didn't say anything, pausing  as a fight broke out somewhere in front of them in the crowd. He seemed keen on waiting it out before they proceeded.</p><p>"Oh! Little thing's first time to the market?" A voice cooed.</p><p>Mk nearly yelped at the demon's sudden appearance, then felt stupid as he realised she'd been there, seated behind her counter.</p><p> The demon looked like some odd mix between a porcupine and a crow, if such things had stood upright, and the feathers around her beak were beginning to grey. He'd never seen a demon going grey before. She was running a nearby stall, and Mk's fear eased at the sight of the baked goods lining the glass cabinets.</p><p>"Little treat for the little one-" the demon offered, pulling out a piece of jerky from a container on the counter- "never too early to give them the taste for human."</p><p>Mk's stomach dropped into dread, nausea and fear rising up instantly within him.</p><p>He dug his hands into Macaque's clothes, nearly seeming to be attempting to meld himself into the older monkie's side with how desperately he clung to him.</p><p>"F-f-father," he squeaked, voice trembling.</p><p>"He's allergic to humans," Macaque snapped curtly.</p><p>"Oh, poor thing," the other demon cooed. "So precious. Been a while since anyone's brought young ones around. Demons don't eat like they used to, no sir, not at all. I may have some chicken or-"</p><p>"We don't have time."</p><p>The demon's face scrunched up in distaste.</p><p>"One cannot afford to be so snobby in the Stone District," she huffed. "You'd best keep that in mind."</p><p>The fighting cut off in a series of yelps and squeals ahead. Somebody had won. The crowd resumed their ebb and flow of movement.</p><p>Macaque started off without another word to the demon, Mk still clinging to him. </p><p>They weaved through the crowd, Mk having to hold onto the end of his tail to avoid it being stepped on, as he still wasn't sure how to control the thing yet. Macaque's tail, on the other hand, stayed wrapped firmly around Mk's wrist.</p><p>There were some interesting stalls. Mk was almost surprised how… human… some of it seemed. </p><p>"Ma- Father?"</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"Wh- I mean… Stone District?"</p><p>Macaque glanced at him before motioning to the walls.</p><p>"Stone District-" he then gestured far ahead, towards walls lined with veins of gold, then even farther- "Gold District, Jade District. We need to get to the Jade District. It's safer there, no demon would hurt you in the Jade District."</p><p>The crowd had started to thin. Sounds of another fight ahead. Demons were giving it a wide berth.</p><p>Mk clung tighter to Macaque.</p><p>Macaque eyed the churning crowd, only moving when Mk yelped as a large demon almost crashed into them. The monkie tugged him down a side street to avoid the aggravating demons, one of which almost stepped on them.</p><p>Mk looked to Macaque.</p><p>"Turf war, probably," Macaque said. "Best to stay out of the way of those."</p><p>Mk glanced around the alley-like path and clung even tighter to Macaque. There were no gems, the light from outside not reaching as well between the buildings, and it stunk like trash and rot.</p><p>Something large, almost as large as Lóng, scurried in the shadows. Claws clinked against metal as a few more moved on the pipes, and Mk felt eyes burning into him. </p><p>"Father-"</p><p>"I know. Almost there."</p><p>"Little Monkey," a voice rasped. "Do these old eyes deceive me?"</p><p>Macaque went still, a bitter scent almost like smoke rising from his fur. If he hadn't been a monkie, Mk probably wouldn't have even noticed it, but he'd smelled it before. Twice before.</p><p>Fear.</p><p>"Father?"</p><p>"Behind me," Macaque hissed, backing them up against the wall, already shoving Mk behind him. </p><p>The monkie splayed his arms out a little, tail curling tight around Mk's midsection. Mk dug his claws into the back of Macaque's tunic shirt, peering out from behind the larger monkie's back.</p><p>Something hopped down to the ground, claws clicking sharp against the stone, a pair of gleaming eyes staring out from the dark. It approached, a few slightly smaller shapes landing down beside it. One after another, pair after pair of small gleaming eyes stared at them from the darkness.</p><p>Like a small council, come to bear judgement. Mk didn't think whatever they had decided on was good.</p><p>Mk's eyes began to adjust, enough to make out the furry shape as it rose onto two legs.</p><p>A rat demon, fur streaked with silver, missing patches of fur to show wrinkled skin and covered in a patchwork of scars, with a mass of scar tissue over where one of its eyes had probably once been. It flicked tattered ears and licked its lips, flashing chipped and yellowed teeth. Sharp teeth. </p><p>Mk's grip tightened. Macaque was as still as the stone around them.</p><p>"Little Monkey," the rat demon cooed. "Look how big you've gotten."</p><p>Another rat demon crept close, sniffing at Mk's tail.</p><p>Mk yelped and heard a hiss escape his mouth. His tail moved almost by itself, the smaller monkie still not sure how to use it. </p><p>Macaque didn't move.</p><p>"Little Monkey has his own little monkey now," the ancient rat laughed. "Looks fed on better than scraps. More meat on its bones."</p><p>"Still just a little scrap of fur, Rot-" something tugged at his tail- "just a little appetizer-"</p><p>Macaque lunged, tail unwrapping and lashing out to grab the rat demon tugging at Mk's tail by the neck. It squealed, shrieks dying down to squeaks as the tail tightened like an anaconda, until finally there was only silence as the rat spasmed. Its eyes looked like they would pop out of its head completely, and Mk felt sick.</p><p>"I bet he'll cry just like you," the large rat laughed, even as Macaque dropped the now limp demon. "Bring me the young one."</p><p>Macaque roared, but the rats lunged. Mk watched in horror as the monkie disappeared beneath a mound of rats right in front of him. The monkie barely even tried to fight, scrunching up and covering his head, fur fluffed up as he scrunched his eyes shut, his ears pressed flat against his head. And then he was gone from sight, buried beneath the writhing fur and skinless tails of the rat demons.</p><p>Mk barely caught himself from falling on his face as sharp teeth gripped him by the ankles and dragged him down to the ground. Small hands pinned his arms and legs, rolling him onto his back.</p><p>A heavy weight on his chest, nearly suffocating, and Mk felt the cold water of the river bite at him. He nearly choked on the phantom water.</p><p>The largest rat smelled even worse up close. He breathed in Mk's face, stinking of rotten meat, and the small monkie nearly puked.</p><p>"Give him space!" The rat yelled. "Let me see Ning's boy!" </p><p>The rats shifted, dragging Macaque out, forcing his cheek against the ground and turning his head in the direction of Mk and the rat. The rat beamed smugly and turned his focus to Mk.</p><p>The rat turned Mk's face from side to side, grip almost painful, scrutinizing Mk with his singular eye.</p><p>"What a cute little thing you've made, Little Monkey," the rat rasped. "Do you think his flesh will taste as good as Ning's did?"</p><p>"Don't you dare speak Ning's name, bastard!"</p><p>"Little Monkey, still so… weak," the rat, Rot, rasped, his teeth flashing in what little light reached them as he grinned. "Little Monkey's little monkey looks like him… but I think the resemblance could do with a little… adjustment."</p><p>The rat flexed his claws, one long slender finger stretching out from the rest. The tip of the filthy claw came to rest at the corner beside Mk's right eyebrow, pressing just shy of cutting the skin.</p><p>"Your father screamed like a baby when I marked him," Rot chuckled. "How loud will you be, little thing?" </p><p>Mk glanced down at his tail, straining for it to listen to him. Struggling to figure out how to use it. If he could only get it around Rot's neck, maybe he could do what Macaque had done to the other rat demon.</p><p>"Please," Macaque begged. "Leave the kid alone, I'm the one who took your revenge from you, Rot."</p><p>"A parent's love?" Rot asked. "Delicious. You should have stayed in your cage, Little Monkey. But no. Just had to near our pile. Poor little baby, wailing for Ning to save him. Weak little freak!"</p><p>Macaque bared his teeth and grunted, shifting his body. The rats on him squeaked in surprise, more piling on to try and keep him down, as if him trying to throw them off hadn't been a possibility they had foreseen.</p><p>Rot lifted his claw, but Mk's relief was shortlived as it came back down, flashing, nearly a blur.</p><p>Pain, burning across his face, pain surging through and throbbing, narrowly missing his eye. Maybe. It hurt too much to be sure.</p><p>Mk screamed, but the rats kept him down. </p><p>And then they were gone, the dark shape of Macaque barreling into them flying over him, the smell of his fear filling the alley and almost overpowering the stench of rot and decay. Even with his obvious panic at the sight of the rats, the larger monkie tore into them like a rabid beast. </p><p>Mk scrambled free of what few rats still held him, retreating with his tail tucked, clutching his throbbing, burning face. There was so much blood, why was there so much blood-</p><p>Hands scooped him up and he screamed, but it was only Macaque. The monkie tucked him close and ran, bolting out of the alley and tearing down the street.</p><p>Demons cried out in rage at the monkie suddenly barreling through them, but the snarls turned to cries of shock as a handful of rat demons poured from the alley after the monkies. </p><p>"Hold on!" Macaque demanded, nearly tossing the smaller monkie to his back.</p><p>Mk gasped, but found it was easier to cling as a monkie. </p><p>Macaque dropped to all fours, dashing through the crowded street. Over demons, under demons, the monkie weaved through nearly like liquid as he fled. The sudden turns and whiplash almost made Mk gag, if he hadn't been too scared at how much blood was pouring down his face.</p><p>Why were they fleeing? Macaque had been throwing them around like dolls, why were they-</p><p>"We can take them!" Mk shrieked. "They're just rats-" </p><p>But Macaque was past listening, focused only on escape. </p><p>Mk let go.</p><p>He tumbled across the ground as if he'd leaped from a moving car, feeling the wind get knocked out of him as the stone scraped against his arms. </p><p>He was on his feet by the time the first rat demon had lunged as they caught up. Mk dived and rolled under the lunge, stumbling with his wounded depth perception, his tail lashing. </p><p>The nearby crowd had moved, parting like the Red Sea of Christian mythology around him as the rats slowed and circled. </p><p>"Forget the child!" Rot shrieked, landing in a crouch and baring teeth and claws at the rest. "BRING ME LITTLE MONKEY!"</p><p>The rats shrieked and darted on. Rot remained, the beast standing up on his hind legs with a snarl.</p><p>"He thinks he's so big and strong, now, does he?" Rot hissed, storming towards Mk. "Little Monkey, so big now, Little Monkey so fierce now!" </p><p>Rot pounced, snapping his teeth at Mk, and the boy barely managed to dodge the ancient demon in time. </p><p>"Your father sobbed like a baby, so small, so weak, so useless without big bad Ning to protect tiny Little Monkey," Rot snarled. "Let's see how tough he thinks he is when I toss your broken little body at his feet!"</p><p>Mk bared his fangs and snarled.</p><p>"Oh, listen to the little infant squeak," Rot rasped. "How precious."</p><p>The rat demon licked his lips.</p><p>"Come, little one," Rot said. "And maybe I will make it quick."</p><p>And then Macaque was there between them, dropping a dead rat, covered in scratches and blood.</p><p>The older monkie stood, hands clenching into fists, and held his head up high.</p><p>"I'm not weak anymore," Macaque hissed. "And I'm done running." </p><p>The monkie glanced over his shoulder at Mk.</p><p>"Reach the Jade District," Macaque commanded.</p><p>Rot attacked while Macaque was distracted, lunging onto the dark furred monkie and digging his teeth into Macaque's shoulder. The monkie let out a scream, already trying to dislodge him.</p><p>Mk turned tail and bolted.</p><p>If Macaque died, he figured, then so be it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mk runs away from the rats and runs into a familiar face</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk ran past the point of exhaustion. The tired monkie finally stopped and hopped up onto the sign of a nearby shop only to see that he was barely halfway there. </p><p>He had passed into the Gold District only minutes ago, the Stone District larger than it had any right to be. Disheartened, Mk dropped to the ground and crouched down to catch his breath, watching demons walk past as he sat safely out of the way. At least he hoped he was safe and out of the way.</p><p>His face was still bleeding, despite how long he had been running. Mk tugged at the bandages on his arms, pulling them off, and froze.</p><p>Burns. </p><p>They didn't hurt. Not even when he touched them. They looked almost old, though he knew he hadn't had them earlier. He ran a hand over one, staring at the sharp toothed monkie symbol sneering out at him in the shape of his own scarred skin.</p><p>Mk puked. Turned and puked over a small fence into what seemed to be a mushroom garden, then made a break for it when a broom wielding cat demon came running out yelling about disrespectful teens.</p><p>He stopped a few blocks, or at least what seemed about a few blocks length, away. </p><p>Mk ducked into the nearest shop, a structure made out of a disorderly mess of cobblestone and wood. The demons within gave him weird looks but said nothing to him, and Mk ducked into the first thing that looked like a restroom.</p><p>Using his mirror, he wrapped the bandages around his head and covered his right eye, tying it to keep it from slipping off. He flicked his ears, trying to get the one on the right adjusted to the gauze rubbing against it. </p><p>Mk walked around a bit until he was a little more confident in his depth perception, then left the restroom.</p><p>He sat at the counter, requesting only a water, and hunched over the cup, still trying to get his wind back while he planned out his next course of action.</p><p>The way they had come in was at the far end of the Undermarket. He must have come miles from it, and he wasn't even halfway into the Gold District. He'd have to double back and make the whole trek back.</p><p>Back through the Stone District.</p><p>Maybe there was a way through the Jade District? No. No, he had to make the risk of doubling back.</p><p>A hand tapped his shoulder.</p><p>"Macaque?"</p><p>Mk stiffened. He could feel the uncomfortable feeling of his fur starting to fluff up, and forced himself to calm down.</p><p>He swiveled the bar stool around, but his words died in his throat.</p><p>Red Son.</p><p>"Father sent some of the bull clones, but they ran into trouble. Some fight in the Stone District-" the demon waved his hand dismissively, saying Stone District as if the words tasted like sewage- "and- oh. You're not Macaque."</p><p>Mk blinked with his single seeing eye and nodded. Then his head caught up from his surprise and he jumped so suddenly that it startled Red Son, too.</p><p>"Uh, n- I'm…. Mk."</p><p>The demon didn't seem to recognize him or his name, considering he hadn't burst into flames while screeching like an angry parakeet. </p><p>Mk felt the longing in his chest rise up full force within him. Gods, how he missed his friends. It was easier, when you didn't have a reminder of the life that you had had standing in front of you.</p><p>"Oh. Did he send you, instead?"</p><p>"What?" Mk asked.</p><p>Red Son reached forward, seeming uncaring of the unspoken rules of personal space, and tapped a finger against one of the marks.</p><p>"He must be your father, I'm guessing," Red Son said. "You look just like him."</p><p>"I- I do not!"</p><p>Red Son ignored it and reached down, lifting his own shirt up. Mk was mortified for all of two seconds before realising that the demon, who had more muscle than someone so scrawny should have on them, was showing him his four marks, two on each side.</p><p>A bull and a fan.</p><p>"Overprotective parents, right?" Red Son asked, sounding a bit less dismissive of him now. "So annoying. But it comes in handy. Can't count the number of times I've had to light them, and don't get me started on how much easier they make getting in and out of the Jade District. Not that anyone would ever mistake me for a peasant, of course!"</p><p>Mk leaned forward, taking a closer look, then looked back to his own burns to compare.</p><p>"What do they do?"</p><p>"It's so that they can always know where you are, and if you get in trouble you can let them know," Red Son said. "It's a tracking enchantment. Didn't your parents teach you anything?"</p><p>"My marks are… new."</p><p>"Oh. Trouble?"</p><p>"I… kind of."</p><p>Red Son dropped his shirt and button-up back down and crossed his arms, looking rather arrogant as he puffed out his chest.</p><p>"Well, I'm here now!" Red Son said. "And nobody is dumb enough to mess with me!"</p><p>"Nobody?" Mk asked before he could stop himself. "I've heard about a human who messes with you often. And wins?"</p><p>"That doesn't count, he's an idiot," Red Son said. "Of course an idiot would mess with me, he's stupid!"</p><p>"Oh?"</p><p>"Yes," Red Son nodded. "May I take this seat?"</p><p>"Go for it," Mk said.</p><p>Mk hoped he wouldn't regret letting him.</p><p>"I'm Red Son, but you can call me Red," Red said. "You said yours was Mk?"</p><p>"Uh, yeah," Mk said. "Sorry, you said you were supposed to meet Macaque?"</p><p>Red nodded. </p><p>"He promised my father a weapon capable of stopping Sun Wukong, himself," Red said. "Of course, then the bots got themselves trashed down in this District and I had to come instead." </p><p>The other demon leaned back in his seat.</p><p>"My father knows he can trust me with important things," Red said. "You know, we're taking over the world, so your father allying with us is a really smart idea. I'm going to be ruling over a lot of things one day, when my family is in charge."</p><p>Mk offered no response. </p><p>Red stared at him for a moment, the demon tapping his fingers against the counter before clearing his throat. </p><p>"Anyways, is he… around? Or do we need to light him?"</p><p>"Light him?"</p><p>"You know-" Red motioned to his marks.</p><p>Mk shook his head.</p><p>"Wow, really? Okay, uh-" Red frowned, and there was the frustrated expression Mk was more used to- "what, your first time in the Undermarket or something? You're like a human in a witch's shop."</p><p>"I was… raised in the city?" Mk said. "The, uh, topside? The demons call it topside, right?"</p><p>"The ones who live down here do," Red said. "I guess somebody like Macaque would try to keep you away from the open? Must be pretty scary here, hm? But do not worry, for I, Red Son, son of the Demon Bull King, who is the future overlord of the world, by the way, will protect you!"</p><p>"I can protect myself."</p><p>"You don't know your way around! I'll show you all the best places. As to whether or not you can protect yourself, well, of course any child of Macaque will no doubt be very proficient-"</p><p>"Macaque and I actually aren't on good terms."</p><p>It was a little funny, watching his old enemy backpedal so furiously.</p><p>"Well, uh…" Red tapped the counter again, glancing around the room. "I'm not too good at this whole friend thing, hold on."</p><p>Mk's amusement faded, and he sat up straighter, paying more attention now.</p><p>"Friend?" </p><p>"Well, we're both sons of powerful demons, and you haven't left yet, so I figured…" Red scowled and crossed his arms- "nevermind."</p><p>Mk was quiet for a minute before nostalgia proved too much. Did he actually feel bad now, over his nemesis? The same Red Son who he'd been fighting for what felt like forever?</p><p>Been. Such a horribly important key word. That life felt like one someone else had been living.</p><p>Could he even call himself the Monkie Kid anymore? After what he has done?</p><p>Here he was, chatting with Red, surrounded by demons who probably ate people in their free time. Not to mention Red wasn't trying to kill him, even if it was because he didn't know Mk was the monkie kid he knew. Red was talking to him as if they were equals, in a way he never had before. </p><p>Gods, Mk really had fallen far, huh?</p><p>"Mk?"</p><p>"Uh, yeah, sorry-" Mk shook free of his spiraling thoughts and turned back to Red- "I was trying to get to the exit in the Stone District, but… yeah, sure, we can be… friends. But if you could help me get out of here, I would really appreciate it?"</p><p>"You don't get out much, do you?" Red asked after an awkward moment.</p><p>"Hey! Well- well I bet you don't either!"</p><p>"More than you!"</p><p>"Probably!"</p><p>Red smiled and snorted, closing his eyes as he fell into a fit of laughter. Huh. Mk had always figured Red's laugh was feral on purpose, but he still sounded like a coffee filled hyena even now.</p><p>Mk cracked a small smile in return. It felt weird on his face.</p><p>"I can show you the way to get back topside," Red said, once he'd collected himself. "Nobody would mess with us, and if there's any idiot willing to try, I can take care of it in a snap!"</p><p>"Oh, really?"</p><p>"Really!" Red said. "Pick any guy in this piss stain of a bar and I could beat them to a pulp!"</p><p>"Any of them?" Mk pushed.</p><p>"Any!" Red shouted, leaping to his feet.</p><p>Straight up into a demon walking past, spilling the demon's drink down his front.</p><p>"Watch where you're going, peasant!" Red snapped seemingly on reflex. "Do you not have eyes, you lumbering oaf?"</p><p>"Excuse me?" The demon snarled, turning towards them. "The hell did you just say, boy?"</p><p>The two teens stared up in horror at the river demon now towering over them, the angry electric eels making up the being's hair sparking and baring their needle sharp teeth as the demon turned to glare down upon them.</p><p>"Haha, umm… my bad," Red said, the fire demon quickly backpedaling. "We were… just leaving?"</p><p>"We? This is not a we!" Mk said. "I am not a part of this!"</p><p>The monkie stood, holding his hands up, and went to back away, his tail lashing in unease. </p><p>"But we're friends!" Red said. "Mk! Mk, come back!"</p><p>"You said anybody, right? Well there you go, bye-bye, I-"</p><p>Mk's tail wrapped around something. Still not too sure how to use the thing, he startled and moved to turn. His tail didn't let go.</p><p>The old demon whose walker he'd accidentally snagged almost seemed to fall in slow motion. Time seemed to slow, the old lady seeming to fall for eons before finally landing on the floor of the bar, all the demons staring in horror.</p><p>"He just attacked Gram-Gram!" A demon shrieked.</p><p>"Time to go, Monkey Boy!" </p><p>Red grabbed his hand and yanked, nearly sending Mk into the wall as he was dragged around the corner. </p><p>Huh. Red's hands felt surprisingly nice. Warm. </p><p>Oh, ew! He shrieked at himself. Red Son was the enemy! E to the n to the- No time for this. He shoved the thoughts away and focused.</p><p>Mk got his feet beneath him and Red let go, tearing out the door and into the marketplace with Mk hot on his heels. </p><p>The doorway screamed behind them at the amount of bodies trying to go through all at once, and then Mk caught a second wind at the sound of the angry roars and shrieks of the demon behind him.</p><p>"I hope you know where you're going!" Mk shouted.</p><p>A hand to his chest, knocking the wind out of him, just before he was yanked into a side cavern by Red grabbing his arm. He caught himself, letting out a squeaky yelp as a hand grabbed hold of his tail and dragged him into a tunnel in the wall that they barely fit through.</p><p>Red dragged him through and out the other side. He didn't let go of the now fluffed up monkie's tail, and so Mk grabbed it in his hands and yanked it free.</p><p>"That's sensitive!" He snapped, clutching his tail as if it would make the stinging pain go away.</p><p>Red rolled his eyes and grabbed Mk's hand again, yanking him through before the demons caught up to them.</p><p>"Light your father!" Red said. "They'll run for sure!"</p><p>"L-light yours!"</p><p>"They- they're busy!"</p><p>"Oh my gods… nobody's scared of your dad?"</p><p>"Shut up, yes they are!" Red yelled. "But he's more of the squish and done sort, and everybody knows Macaque likes to drag it out and my parents don't need to know about this!"</p><p>"It?"</p><p>"Do you not know what killing something means? Ugh, my first friend and he's an idiot!"</p><p>They both went silent at the sound of the demons nearing. Red lifted a finger to his lips, then grabbed Mk's hand and led him down another tunnel.</p><p>They came out on the other end, dropping down onto the street, and Red pulled him along farther from the cavern wall, towards the center, until Mk noticed the demons starting to cut them off up ahead.</p><p>Mk was the one doing the pulling now. He tugged Red back and pulled him towards a wooden building, the nearest thing with an open door. </p><p>A hand grabbed him by a scruff he hadn't known he had had before they got there, and then he was yanked up. Mk was getting really sick of being yanked around.</p><p>The river demon held him up like a cat, seeming unimpressed by the small monkie's angry cursing. Unimpressed until Red snatched a small imp demon up and hurled her like a baseball.</p><p>The screaming civilian hit the river demon in the face and Mk fell. Red caught him and took off, not stumbling even when Mk hopped off onto his own two feet.</p><p>"You threw a lady!" </p><p>"You're welcome!" Red yelled. "Left!"</p><p>Mk followed the fire demon as Red nearly fell over darting down another side street. If the demons behind them hadn't been angry before, which they very much had been, then that anger must have been multiplied by ten. </p><p>A raccoon dog demon lumbered out in front of them. Mk recognized him as having been in the bar and dragged Red down the only way still open, ignoring the demon's frantic complaints to this decision.</p><p>Mk soon discovered the reason for these complaints, staring at a rock wall of a dead end. </p><p>Mk's marks lit up and he would have tripped if Red hadn't caught him and pulled him back up. They shone with silver light, as if someone had shoved flashlights under his skin.</p><p>"What-" </p><p>And then Macaque was there, barely a moment later, dropping down in front of them. He stood, standing between the demons and the boys, and Mk would have been relieved if his plans of escape hadn't just splashed into the sewers.</p><p>A little scratched, a little bloodied, a few tears in a couple ears. Macaque barely looked out of breath, the smug bastard. It seemed the rats hadn't killed him, after all.</p><p>Pity.</p><p>"Macaque!" The river demon squeaked. The other demons had already ditched him. "What a- a- a surprise!"</p><p>Apparently avenging gram-gram did not account for a pissed off adult monkie demon known for going toe to toe with Sun Wukong.</p><p>Macaque crossed his arms, glancing back at Mk and Red, looking Mk over before turning his focus back on the river demon. </p><p>"Oh, i-is that yours?" The river demon asked, the eels that made up his hair anxiously tucking themselves behind his ears. "I was just about to take him to the lost and found in the station! But you're here now, so I'll just go-"</p><p>"You have five seconds. The next demon to look at my kid wrong is going to keep me occupied for an evening." </p><p>The demon blanched.</p><p>"Y-yes, right- right, I-"</p><p>"Get the news out or it'll be you helping me teach the kid dissection."</p><p>"Yes, sir!" The demon squeaked.</p><p>The river demon turned tail, and Red showed much more enthusiasm for this turn of events than Mk.</p><p>"Yes, flee, peasant!" Red cackled. "Fear the wrath of the Demon Bull King family!"</p><p>Mk elbowed him to silence the maniacal laughter and cool the hothead's flames of excitement before they could burn his fur.</p><p>Macaque turned, and Mk looked away, waiting to be scolded for fleeing.</p><p>"You did good," Macaque said instead, ruffling the fur on Mk's head. "How's… how's the eye, kid?"</p><p>"It… hurts," he admitted. </p><p>Macaque reached for the bandages, waiting for Mk's nod before carefully pulling them off. His hands were gently, poking just near enough not to hurt. </p><p>"He didn't hit your eye," Macaque said. "But we need to get this cleaned up immediately."</p><p>"Yes, father."</p><p>"And you-" Macaque turned his focus onto Red- "I know for a fact that you're not allowed to be in the Undermarket by yourself."</p><p>All excitement at Macaque's arrival visibly dropped out of Red.</p><p>"I wasn't alone!" Red said. "Mk was with me, right, Mk?"</p><p>"Uh… right," Mk said. "He was with me the whole time."</p><p>"Saw the whole, uh, mess and came to help!" Red lied.</p><p>"Yeah!" Mk said. "You should have seen him fight those rats, he, like, burned them to a crisp!"</p><p>"Those idiots didn't stand a chance!"</p><p>Red's hands lit up in flames as he curled them into fists.</p><p>"Alright, calm down, Johnny Storm," Macaque said. "I won't tell your parents."</p><p>"You… won't?"</p><p>"No," Macaque said. "You know these streets better than me, kid. Get us to the Jade District, and I won't mention a word."</p><p>Red's face bloomed into a wide grin.</p><p>"You can count on me!"</p><p>Mk could only sigh, already exasperated. Red Son, it seemed, was dramatic and loud no matter which side you were on.</p><p>Although, perhaps Mk didn't have that much room to talk.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It was turning out a little long and fucking the mood I wanted to set, so I split the og 14 into 14 and 15 rip<br/>Anyways</p><p>BEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk had barely left the dead end street before Macaque had wrapped his tail tightly around the boy's waist like a baby leash.</p><p>Mk had been fine with this earlier, in the much scarier Stone District, but in front of his nemesis? Absolutely not!</p><p>"M- Father. I can walk by myself," he said.</p><p>"And lose you to make another mess? No," Macaque said. "So you can stay right here and- Red Son! Stay where I can see you! Gods, what have I gotten myself into…"</p><p>Mk hurried forward, tugging against the tail/child leash, ignoring the monkie's grumbling.</p><p>"Mk! Red Son, get back here!"</p><p>"I was just-" Red Son started.</p><p>"No! Stay close where I can keep an eye on you!"</p><p>Red Son wandered back with his own grumblings. He walked next to Mk, sticking his tongue out at Macaque when the monkie wasn't looking before elbowing Mk.</p><p>"That stick's really up in there, huh?"</p><p>It took Mk a moment to recognize the noise that escaped him as laughter. </p><p>"Super far," Mk whispered.</p><p>The two cracked up, barely noticing Macaque's exasperated eyeroll.</p><p>"Alright, fine," Macaque said. </p><p>The monkie pulled them over to a more secluded area, which wasn't hard to find as the Gold District was less crowded than the Stone District. He let go of Mk and turned to face the two, crossing his arms as his tail lashed.</p><p>"Alright," Macaque said. "There will be no running. You will both stay where I can see you. Red Son, I will tell your parents about your excursion if you run off. Mk, you know better than to disobey. Do you understand?"</p><p>Both boys nodded quickly.</p><p>Macaque took a deep breath.</p><p>"Don't make me regret this," Macaque said. "And for Buddha's sake, please stick together. You can go after we get Mk's eye fixed up, okay?"</p><p>Both boys nodded again. </p><p>"There's a healer nearby," Red said. "They spend their afternoons and evenings here, and the mornings in the Jade District, so they should be in."</p><p>Macaque let Red lead the way, Mk close beside them. </p><p>Red led them to a large building, seemingly sculpted out of stone and gold veins in the middle of the Gold District.</p><p>"The Undermarket is demon made," Red explained, when he caught the confusion on Mk's face. "So some of the more important or formerly important buildings were sculpted into shape as they excavated."</p><p>"You sound so weird when you're not yelling."</p><p>Red stumbled over his words at the sudden subject change.</p><p>"Um, thank you?"</p><p>"No, I mean- I just realised- ugh-" Mk shook his head- "sorry, I've only had Macaque around for like, uh…"</p><p>"Six months," Macaque supplied.</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Red seemed to catch hint of Mk's darkening mood, for the demon grabbed his hand and tugged him along into the building. </p><p>It was warm inside. Not too much so, even with his fur, but warm like a fort of blankets wrapped around you on a cold morning. </p><p>And then he noticed the snake.</p><p>The huge, towering snake, with eyes bigger than Mk's entire body and teeth even larger.</p><p>Mk let out a squeak and nearly barreled Red over, squeezing his hand and grabbing onto his arm with his free hand. He barely noticed his tail wrapping tightly around Red's ankle.</p><p>"It's fine," Red assured, jutting out his chest like a full of itself peacock. "And if it wasn't, I'm here, so it would still be fine!"</p><p>"Wouldn't it then not be fine?" Macaque asked.</p><p>The enormous snake lifted its head from the coils of scales. One golden eye burned into Mk. From the other, the shaft of a glowing golden arrow protruded from twisted, burnt scales. The glow was almost brighter than the lanterns.</p><p>"Macaque," it hissed, voice deeper than any Mk had ever known voices could go. "It has been too long."</p><p>"Don't tell me you've taken up healing, old friend?"</p><p>The monstrous beast's maw fell open, what was probably slightly for it, but a car's width to Mk. He buried himself into Red's side, tail tightening its hold. If Red noticed the claws starting to dig into his arm and hand, he made no notion. But the snake was only laughing, he realised, and not about to eat them all in one bite.</p><p>"Old fool," the snake said. "That asshole already took my role, I would not steep so low."</p><p>The air began to buzz. Mk let go of Red and moved to cling to Macaque.</p><p>"Shush, Python-" many voices, all speaking at once, light and soft- "you offend me."</p><p>The great beast grumbled and settled its head back down.</p><p>"Sorry, Wen," Python grumbled. "I meant no offense to you."</p><p>The voice's owner fluttered into view, about Mk's size, iridescent wings a blurr behind it. It was striped, a yellow/black splotched and striped creature. </p><p>"Sixer," the creature grabbed Macaque's hands. "It has been too long! What is wrong?"</p><p>"Wen. It has indeed-" Macaque gave her hands a squeeze before he pointed towards Mk- "but I'm not here for me. The kid."</p><p>She darted to a stop before Mk, hovering before him. Wen would have looked like a large version of a fairy if not for how her lower jaw separated into mandibles, and hundreds, maybe thousands, of bees crawled along her skin and in and out of holes in her midsection and limbs. Mk would have barfed if he hadn't already done so earlier.</p><p>"Oh, little thing-" she cooed and reached out with hands barbed in sharp claws, pulling back as Mk flinched and hid himself further behind Macaque- "oh, we did not mean to frighten you, little dear."</p><p>"They won't hurt you," Red promised.</p><p>Wen smiled, their eyes gleaming like black diamonds. Above their eyes, a sparse few gems seemed to glimmer in the lantern light.</p><p>"It's alright, little dear," they said. "Let me see."</p><p>Mk looked to Macaque. The monkie gave a short nod, and only then did Mk take the few steps closer. </p><p>Wen flew less than a rock's throw away and patted what looked like a cot.</p><p>"Over here, dear, sit up here, please."</p><p>Mk hopped up and sat down, wringing his hands as Wen gently cupped his face.</p><p>Their hands were warm. Bees buzzed around them both, but none landed on him or tried to sting. A few inched out along Wen's yellow arms, antennae twitching, tilting their heads back and forth from their perch.</p><p>A small swarm split from Wen's hive-like body, the little creatures picking up one of the lanterns and bringing it closer. A few other small swarms split off into variously sized groups.</p><p>One group brought back a small bucket, from which Wen pulled out a rag. They squeezed out most of the water before dabbing at his face. </p><p>Mk winced as the gash from Rot's claw caused the skin around it to burn at even the lightest touch. A few bees landed on his shoulders, and he flinched, but the bees only buzzed their wings. It was almost like a song, and he found himself beginning to relax even as the other swarm came back with what looked like a toolbox.</p><p>"Missed your eye," Wen muttered, once they'd gotten most of the blood. "I'm going to have to clean it out though, then hurry and get it fixed up. How long has it been bleeding?"</p><p>Mk stiffened, but instead of turning the rag onto the wound, Wen reached into the box as a swarm of bees opened it. Some bees hopped from their hand to one of the jars within, working together to unscrew the lid, another few dipping in a wooden spoon. It came up covered in golden liquid.</p><p>Honey?</p><p>"Thank you, little dears," Wen said as the bees hovered nearby with the spoon. They scraped some off and brushed it across the gash. It hurt at first, but then all feeling leaked away, and the pain faded entirely.</p><p>Mk barely noticed Wen cleaning the honey away. When Wen started cleaning it with the rag, he felt nothing at all. </p><p>"How much?" Macaque asked. </p><p>"You can add it to your tab, Sixer," Wen said. </p><p>Mk glanced up. Wen was smiling, and he realized that what he had mistaken as gems above their curved eyes were merely smaller eyes, all focused on Macaque. </p><p>"The one you never ask me to pay?"</p><p>"The very one," Wen said with a laugh. "You know you've already paid more than I can repay, Sixer. Make yourselves at home, this will take a few stitches."</p><p>"Stitches?" Mk squeaked.</p><p>"It won't hurt a bit," Wen promised. </p><p>True to their word, Mk didn't feel any of it. When Wen was finally done, the bees left his shoulders and brought him a small jar of honey.</p><p>"This isn't, uh… homemade?" Mk asked. "Because I've heard how honey is made, and-"</p><p>"You are so cute," Wen cooed. "It isn't for eating, little dear. It will keep the pain away when it starts to hurt, and promotes healing."</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"Yes, it's homemade-" Macaque, ruffling Mk's head fur, sounding amused- "and when people give us stuff we say?"</p><p>"Thank you," Mk said.</p><p>"You are very welcome, little dear," Wen said.</p><p>They smiled at him, and after a moment, he managed a small and shaky one back.</p><p>Wen stood up straight, as much as someone hovering in the air on blurry wings could stand up, and turned to Macaque.</p><p>"Make sure he puts it on when it starts to hurt," they said. "Keep it clean. Don't even want to know what made such a nasty thing on the poor little dear. Make sure he doesn't pick at it, young demons always pick."</p><p>"Yes, ma'ams," Macaque said.</p><p>"And stay out of trouble, Sixer?" Wen asked.</p><p>"No promises." </p><p>"Sixer..."</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"Python says the road you are on does not lead to a good end," Wen said. "Be careful. Think things through. It's never too late to turn back. To choose a new way to go. You can always find a better path."</p><p>Macaque glanced at Mk. Mk pretended not to notice.</p><p>Macaque shooed a few bees from his fur and motioned for Mk to come.</p><p>"My choices are my own, Wen," Macaque said. "It is too late to turn back. And even if it wasn't, I would not give up. Fate is never stone."</p><p>"Sixer, please-" Wen grabbed for him, catching his arm- "Python has seen them all, and they all end badly. There is no future in which Sun Wukong will ever love you. Stay."</p><p>Macaque yanked his arm free.</p><p>"Then I'll make one myself," Macaque said. "Mk. Red Son. Let's go."</p><p>"Sixer-"</p><p>"Goodbye, Wen," Macaque said.</p><p>The monkie herded them out. Wen made no move to stop them this time.</p><p>"I told Wen there is no future in which you stay," Python said, the great beast once more resting amongst its coiled scales. "Goodbye, old friend. We'll not see each other again in this world."</p><p>"You're immortal, old fool," Macaque said.</p><p>"Apollo and I will clash again," Python said. "But we both know how little of a chance it is you'll stay for long. Your death at the hands of the Buddha didn't stick, now did it?"</p><p>"What's that supposed to mean, Python?"</p><p>"It means I am tired of fools," Python hissed. "Kill the boy, and it solves almost every problem. And yet, there is no future in which you are capable of that, either."</p><p>"No," Macaque said. "There isn't."</p><p>"Goodbye, shadow of Wukong," Python said. </p><p>"You say that like it's the last you'll ever see me."</p><p>"It is," Python said. "Goodbye."</p><p>"...Goodbye."</p><p>All three were quiet as they left the building. Mk looked to Macaque and found Red doing the same out of the corner of his eye, the fire demon crossing his arms.</p><p>"Well?" Red asked. </p><p>Macaque sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.</p><p>"You both remember the rules?"</p><p>Both nodded quickly.</p><p>The monkie motioned to the stalls.</p><p>"Fine. Go on, you little gremlins," the monkie said.</p><p>The two both let out a cheer, the two demons hurrying further into the Gold District as Macaque unleashed them upon the Undermarket.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Red and Mk hit the markets</p><p>///////</p><p>Sorry it's short and shitty rip. I know ya'll been having a rough time so the majority of this chapter is a lil fluffy</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk let an excited Red drag him down a street full of vendors, the demon's hand wrapped tightly in his. </p><p>The demon stopped at one with clothes and bags, pulling Mk into the tent with him. Macaque followed at his own leisure.</p><p>Mk stopped at a section of jackets, pushing through them and perking up at an orange jacket. He shoved aside the ones with various holes for demons with spikes or wings and found one about his size. </p><p>Mk pulled it off the rack and held it up. It didn't have the same markings as his old one, didn't have any, really, and the fabric felt different. </p><p>He pulled it on anyways and pulled up the hood. It felt nice, felt familiar, even if it wasn't as broken in as the one he had had.</p><p>Mk pulled it off and felt his heart sink. He'd lost anything he could have paid for it with long ago.</p><p>Macaque reached over him and pulled it from his hands. </p><p>Mk's shoulders hunched up and he lowered his head, trying to look smaller.</p><p>"Sorry," he muttered.</p><p>Macaque stared down at him before tossing the jacket over his arm and heading farther into the tent. Mk watched him go and only sighed, wrapping an arm around himself and holding onto his other arm.</p><p>"Ahem!" Red crowed, making him jump. "Come on, already!"</p><p>The demon tugged him over to what he had been looking at, showing no sign of whether he had seen what had happened or not.</p><p>"You look like a homeless peasant on the corner of the Stone District," Red sniffed. "Most definitely not matching a demon of your heritage! Look at you, your clothes look like you've rolled through a pile of mud and rotting carcasses. Wearing the blood of your enemies is so Medieval era!" </p><p>Red tossed through the shirts, some landing on the  floor, others landing on whatever they hit. Mk hurriedly tried to grab and refold all those thrown aside as Red's path of destruction reined on.</p><p>"Here!" </p><p>A pile of shirts and pants landed on Mk's face, and he almost dropped the clothes he'd been frantically trying to fix.</p><p>"Yes, they match you well enough-" Red grabbed him and dragged him to a different rack, not commenting as Mk quickly dropped the discarded clothes back on the shelf in a single pile- "now-"</p><p>"I don't need all-"</p><p>"Shut up," Red said. "You obviously have no regards of fashion, so it is up to me!"</p><p>Red tossed the clothes that had passed his scrutiny off out of Mk's arms and onto a nearby shelf, then carefully shoved a pair of glasses onto Mk's face.</p><p>"Hmm, no-" </p><p>"Wait-" Mk said.</p><p>Red pulled those away and tried another pair.</p><p>"Aren't we technically inside?" Mk asked.</p><p>"You don't want some shades?"</p><p>"I don't n-" </p><p>Red grabbed the clothes and pulled him away, tossing the sunglasses.</p><p>"How about a bag-" </p><p>Mk dug his heels in, feeling a small satisfaction at the blank look on the fire demon's face as he fell backwards at the sudden stop. </p><p>"If we buy these, we'll have to carry them around," Mk said. "And besides, I don't… really have anything to pay for them with."</p><p>"You've got a father, he's capable, he's got arms," Red said.</p><p>The demon let go of his hand and marched off. It took watching Red toss the clothes onto a counter beside a register and pulling out a card before Mk's head caught up.</p><p>Mk hurried over, but it was too late. Red shoved the bags into his arms, grabbed his hand, and tugged him out of the shop.</p><p>"Are you hungry?" Red asked. "I am! So let's get food!"</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"No, you're right, I'm not hungry, but who cares it's vendor food!"</p><p>Red dragged him along once more.</p><p>"You didn't have to buy all of this for me," Mk said. "I-"</p><p>"Then consider it for me given to you to get rid of all... this."</p><p>"You… you just gestured to all of me."</p><p>"Well, all of you looks homeless," Red said. "And I will not stand by and let any friend of mine walk around looking like a dumpster peasant!"</p><p>"I like this shirt!"</p><p>"It's disgusting! What even is this? Mud? Blood? Who knows!"</p><p>Mk looked down at the finger jabbing at the shirt's many stains. The circles on his old shirt were looking worse for wear, and the fabric was ripped in places.</p><p>But… but it was his. From before.</p><p>"We'll get it cleaned up," Red said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "Mother knows an amazing dry cleaning service."</p><p>For the next few hours, Mk let Red drag him around from stall to stall. They mostly just looked around, Macaque nowhere in sight but probably nearby. It was only when Mk caught sight of a particular wooden building that it was suddenly Red being dragged. </p><p>Mk dragged the demon into the shop and let go, the smile on his face so wide it almost hurt. Red, on the other hand, looked less than impressed with the absolute gem of a place that Mk had discovered.</p><p>"Is there anything in here that isn't Monkey King themed?" Red asked with a scowl.</p><p>"I don't think so! Isn't it great!"</p><p>Red only shrugged, sulking along behind the shorter monkie as he darted around the shop.</p><p>"I wish we had somewhere like this up top-" Mk grabbed a monkey king plush from a bin, each an exact copy, minus the wear and tear, of his own back home above Pigsy's shop- "I would live right here in this shop if I could!"</p><p>Mk looked up from the plush, squeezing it against his chest.</p><p>"Do you think they'd notice if I did- Hey! They have a villains aisle! So cool!"</p><p>Mk scooped up a Red Son plush. It was blue instead of red, and it had horns, but he'd recognize that manic expression anywhere.</p><p>Even if the plushie's looked a little more deranged. Which was saying a lot considering it was… well… Red Son.</p><p>"Dude! They have a tiny you!"</p><p>Red ignored him, wandering away to a few shelves shoved away into the corner. He reached into the bins and pulled out-</p><p>Mk's heart skipped a beat and he rushed over, reaching in and scooping up one of the plushes. It took everything in him not to shriek in excitement.</p><p>A Monkie Kid plush.</p><p>He had his own plush!</p><p>He looked up, eyes widening further. Scrap that, he had his own stand!</p><p>"Wow," Mk said. "Holy shit. I need this. I need, like, all of this. Oh, hey! It's 50% off!" </p><p>Wait, why was he 50% off? He was worth so much more than half off!</p><p>"Don't tell me you're a Monkie Kid fanboy?"</p><p>"N-no way, he's not as cool as Monkey King! Nobody's as cool as Monkey King."</p><p>Red stared down at the plush in his hands and frowned, his eyebrows scrunching together. Mk looked away and back to the shelves. </p><p>"So, uh-" Mk glanced around, checking for Macaque- "what's that guy up to these days, anyways? M-Monkie Kid, I mean. What's the, uh… Monkie Kid news?"</p><p>"There… is no news," Red said. "The Monkey King's successor is…"</p><p>The demon's grip tightened on the plush.</p><p>"Missing?" Mk supplied.</p><p>"Dead," Red corrected. "Are we done here?"</p><p>"I… sure," Mk said. "We should probably find out where M- uh, my father- is hanging around anyways."</p><p>The demon took the plushes out of Mk's hands and paid at the register.</p><p>Mk met him at the door and took the offered bags, shooting the small bag Red held a look.</p><p>"Just- just target practice," Red said quickly.</p><p>"Sure," Mk said.</p><p>He felt less up for talking now, and it seemed that Red was, too. The two walked aimlessly through the Gold District, half aware of Macaque lurking close by.</p><p>"So… why do people think he's dead? I mean, he's Monkey King's successor, right? It couldn't be that easy to... kill… the Monkie Kid."</p><p>"Easier now than later when he was fully grown and in full control of his power," Red said. "Successors rarely survive to actually succeed their mentors. Memorium sales like that are unfortunately common."</p><p>"…Why?"</p><p>"The same reason a bear may kill a tiger cub," Red said. "To prevent a future threat. To take out that threat before it ever gets to grow into one."</p><p>"You seem to be taking it hard," Mk prodded.</p><p>"Of course not!" Red snapped. "He was mine to kill! My nemesis! Mine! That's all he was. An obstacle, but my obstacle to overcome!"</p><p>Mk winced. A small demon shouted out a curse as Mk's lashing tail knocked them over.</p><p>Red seemed to calm, his voice dropping back into a speaking tone.</p><p>"Mother's become overbearing," Red said. "Always breathing down my neck ever since he disappeared. She thinks I'll disappear, too, considering our status and powerful lineage. How about yours?"</p><p>"I-" Mk looked away and rubbed his neck- "to be honest, my mom never wanted anything to do with me."</p><p>"Oh-" Red's voice was soft, quieter- "sorry."</p><p>"Don't be," Mk said. "I don't mind. I'm better off without her."</p><p>"And that's why you live with your father?"</p><p>Mk thought of Pigsy and the little room above the shop.</p><p>"Yeah," Mk said. "It was mostly just him and me for a long time."</p><p>"After… after Father was trapped, it was only Mother and I," Red said. "I'm glad he's finally home again. He's been less obsessed with the staff since the whole White Bone Spirit situation and Spider Queen's New Year's escapade."</p><p>Mk opened his mouth to reply, but found himself startling as something dropped onto his head. He only relaxed when Macaque's scent, a mix of mangos and plums, hit his nose.</p><p>He struggled in the thing before Macaque patiently tugged his arms into place and pulled the neck part over his head.</p><p>It was the jacket, from the first shop. </p><p>It looked like a newer cleaner version of his old one, except for the Monkey King monkey face that had been on his old jacket being on the left pocket, with a sharper toothed version that vaguely resembled Macaque on the right. Mk checked the back and felt his breath catch.</p><p>At first he mistook it for a Macaque version of the Monkey King monkey face that decorated his old jacket and this jacket's left pocket. But the shape of the mark on the face didn't match.</p><p>It was… him?</p><p>"To complete the set," Macaque said. "Did you both have fun?"</p><p>"Red got me new clothes!" Mk said. "And look!"</p><p>He pulled out the plushies, proudly holding them up.</p><p>"Pretty cool, kiddo," Macaque said, ruffling his hair. "It's getting late. Red Son should be home before his Mother notices him being late for dinner?"</p><p>Red's face paled.</p><p>"Of course!" Red crowed. "To the Jade District!"</p><p>"Wait," Mk said. "We're going to see the Demon Bull family?"</p><p>"Of course," Macaque said. "Unless you'd rather Red Son walk home all by himself? How rude."</p><p>"Yes, father," Mk said.</p><p>The monkie nodded and turned. He wrapped his tail around Mk's wrist and gave it a squeeze as he started off after Red.</p><p>Mk wasn't sure whether the squeeze was meant as a threat or as a reassurance.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Poor Mk really does keep missing dinners, huh?</p><p>//Sorry about the quality, I havent been reeling the best so may or may not have been a lil lazy in the edit phase</p><p>Tw: Animal death</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A pair of guardian lions stood between them and the Jade District, stood on pedestals on either side of the pathway. There was no going around them, thanks to a large wall separating the Jade District from the rest, so the only way was through.</p><p>Mk had never seen guardians lions carved out of jade before. Their eyes were the largest rubies Mk had ever seen, and they sat motionless on their ebony stands. Mk crept closer to look at the cub under the female's paw, but Macaque yanked Mk back to his side before he could touch them.</p><p>At about the same time, a normal mouse walked past the male lion statue. A giant jade paw moved faster than Mk's eyes could track, suddenly pinning the now squeaking rodent beneath his large paw. The mouse disappeared in the next moment, the lion back in his place and pose, the slightest bit of blood upon his maw.</p><p>Red rolled up his sleeves and walked right through, flashing the marks at the guardian lions. The statues didn't move.</p><p>"Copy that," Macaque ordered. "You'll be fine. Go on."</p><p>Mk rolled up his sleeves and hesitated. Macaque gave him a small shove to get him started, and Mk inched forward until he was between them. The male's head started to shift towards Mk and he froze, imagining himself disappearing down that awful mouth like the mouse had.</p><p>Warm hands grabbed onto his arms. Red gently turned his arms so that the marks faced the lions, then started walking backwards, easing Mk forward and through. Red didn't say anything about Mk needing help, to which he was grateful.</p><p>Macaque followed, flashing his marks, and wrapped his tail around Mk's wrist when he reached them.</p><p>"You did good for your first time," Macaque said. "Come on, almost there."</p><p>The streets of the Jade District were mostly empty. Not as many markets, but it made up for it with bigger ones, and few vendor stands, although all of the doors were firmly shut, closed signs on all of them. Further up, past the markets, castles and mansions loomed.</p><p>"It only gets busy in the mornings," Red said.</p><p>"Because nobody plots in the mornings," Macaque said. </p><p>"Plans," Red said. "We do not 'plot'."</p><p>"Nope. Pretty sure what the stick up their asses demons do is plot," Macaque said. "All the demons who live here are full of themselves."</p><p>"You should live here, father."</p><p>"Little shit. You're a little shit, you know that?"</p><p>"Ahem! I live here!" Red cut in.</p><p>"Your point?" Macaque asked.</p><p>Red's hair turned to flame and Mk cut in, the noise too loud for the quiet street.</p><p>"Which one do you live in?" Mk asked.</p><p>"We're the best family here, of course-" Red's hair immediately doused itself- "we live at the very end. Half of the castle is carved out of the cavern."</p><p>Mk turned his gaze ahead, but the end of the cavern was too far away. He could make out black towers looming high above the others, but not much else.</p><p>The castle revealed itself the closer they got, a huge monster of ebony walls. It looked fused with the stone and jade lined walls of the cavern. Two obsidion guardian lions stood on either side of the long path leading up, crystal gardens lighting the place up in glowing, sparkling colors, but these lions didn't seem to move like the enchanted ones at the entrance to the Jade District did.</p><p>"Why is the entrance all the way up there? Wouldn't it be easier to just have it down here?" Mk asked.</p><p>"We like to have our space."</p><p>"The DBK family has the biggest place here, how much space do you guys need?"</p><p>Red didn't answer, instead taking the rest of the bags from Mk's hands.</p><p>"You two never saw me," Red said. "I'll meet you inside."</p><p>Mk and Macaque stood and watched the noble awkwardly scramble up one of the many sides of the castle up to a window, where he tossed the bags in before he gracefully flopped in like a dying fish.</p><p>Macaque sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, something that seemed to be becoming a habit as of late.</p><p>"Alright, there's something you need to understand before we go in there-" Macaque turned and placed his hands on Mk's shoulders, causing the smaller monkie to stiffen and focus- "Mk, I need you to listen to me."</p><p>"I do listen-" </p><p>"Mk!"</p><p>Mk winced and shut up.</p><p>"Do not speak unless addressed until I say so. Do not, I repeat, do not even appear to consider going against anything I say or do. It is essential that you be obedient, do you understand?"</p><p>Mk opened his mouth before closing it, not sure what to say to this.</p><p>"Mk!" Macaque snarled. "If you do not or so much as waver, I'll leave you writhing from the fillet all night! Do you understand?"</p><p>"Yes!" Mk squeaked, flinching and cowering under the monkie's hold. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-"</p><p>Macaque hugged him. Mk could hear the larger monkie's heart pounding in his chest as he was squished against Macaque's chest, the monkie's arms tight around him.</p><p>"Change back."</p><p>Mk bit his lip but dared not question. He shifted back to his human form. The air felt a little colder without his fur, the sounds and scents dimmer, and a gap he'd never noticed before where his tail had been.</p><p>"Just do as I say, and we'll be fine, okay?"</p><p>Mk nodded.</p><p>Macaque pulled away and ruffled Mk's hair, staring down at him for a long minute before taking a deep breath and turning.</p><p>"Follow me," Macaque ordered. "Stick close."</p><p>Mk followed Macaque up the path. The Bull clones at the door stepped aside for the monkie after Macaque snapped out 'tell the king that Macaque is here,' one of the Bull clones running off to do as told.</p><p>Mk stuck close as Macaque followed the other clone, which led them to a throne room made of obsidion and gold. Mk clung to the back of Macaque's tunic, terrified at how many bull clones lined the walls, all of them staring the monkies down.</p><p>The Demon Bull King sat upon a jade carved throne at the end of the hall, a throne larger than Mk's old room at Pigsy's. Princess Iron-Fan and Red Son sat on either side of the throne, Iron-Fan in her own golden throne to her husband's right, and Red on a smaller ruby one.</p><p>All three were staring daggers into him. Mk could practically see the gears beginning to turn in Red's head.</p><p>Why did the idea of Red putting two and two together hurt so much?</p><p>Mk clung tighter to Macaque, all too aware that Monkey King's staff was still in the basement of the cabin, abandoned simply because he was too much of a coward to go and grab it like he'd been told.</p><p>"What is this-" DBK's voice boomed throughout the hall, making Mk flinch- "you dare bring the Monkey King's boy into my home?"</p><p>"I bring a weapon," Macaque said. "As promised."</p><p>Mk's lungs started to burn. He tried to drag more air in, and he felt Macaque's tail wrap around his wrist and give it a gentle squeeze. Mk forced himself to calm down before it could rise into hyperventilating or, even worse, a full on attack.</p><p>"You bring the staff thief into the very heart of my home and have the gall?" DBK said. "You promised the removal of Sun Wukong and instead that very monkie tears through the city near daily. There is unrest not only within the city but within the very Undermarket, itself!"</p><p>"The weapon will solve your Sun Wukong problem."</p><p>"What proof have you of such a claim?"</p><p>"Proof?" Macaque asked. "I have the former apprentice of Sun Wukong, himself, who Sun Wukong is incapable of bringing himself to harm."</p><p>"The successor would not turn against his predecessor," DBK said. </p><p>"You asked for a weapon. I have made you one. Incomplete, considering the abrupt and too soon end to my forging of what I promised you. Dangerous. Not yet as obedient as needed for adequate safety. But usable. Just give him a target. Any target. Even the Monkey King."</p><p>Macaque pulled a small cage from his clothes, a mouse from one of the markets. He pulled it out of its cage and put the mouse in Mk's hands, closing Mk's hands around the small rodent. Mk kept a loose grip, just tight enough to hold onto it, not wanting to hurt it.</p><p>"And then give the signal," Macaque said. "He's been conditioned to respond to it, albeit usually only when in an animal form."</p><p>The Demon Bull King sat up and forward, leaning his arms on his knees. Mk cowered under the weight of DBK's full attention and stared down at the mouse. He could feel its heartbeat, pounding in terror, too frozen by panic to even bite.</p><p>"Enough talk," DBK said. "Back up your words with action."</p><p>Macaque whistled his three note tune.</p><p>Mk's body acted before his mind could catch up. Almost as if on autopilot, as casual as getting dressed, he bit into the mouse's chest.</p><p>Tiny bones cracked and snapped, blood and organs seeping into his mouth with a horried pop that would ring in Mk's ears forever. It had squished farther than he thought a mouse could before the skin gave way, when he'd scissored his teeth and tore it.</p><p>He dropped it, petrified by his own actions. Mk's hands- human hands- trembled. He wanted to gag, to scream, to stop and think long enough to comprehend what he had just done, but Macaque's grip was tight on his shoulder and everyone's stares were burning into him.</p><p>He'd killed it.</p><p>Not by claws or talons.</p><p>Not by fangs or beak.</p><p>By his own human hands and teeth.</p><p>Strong. Strong. Strong.</p><p>Mk was not weak. He could not afford to be weak. He had to be strong. It was just a mouse. Inconsequential. A means to an end.</p><p>It was just how the world worked.</p><p>It was weak. He was strong.</p><p>He was strong.</p><p>He swallowed the mouthful, bones and all, and forced his expression off of his face. Mk wiped the blood off of his face with his palm. The by now familiar numb feeling was already leaking through his veins, a blessing compared to the nausea.</p><p>Mk barely heard Macaque's hiss of relief.</p><p>"Do you doubt me still?" Macaque asked.</p><p>DBK was silent. Mk stared past them all.</p><p>"Has to be before the strike. Before the conditioning has time to be overruled by a second thought," Macaque said. "Although, if I had had the time I needed-"</p><p>"Enough," DBK said. </p><p>Everyone was silent. Macaque went silent without argument. The minutes stretched out as if they were eons, broken only when Red found his words with a shaky voice.</p><p>"Father-" </p><p>"Silence, my son," DBK said. </p><p>The demon's brows furrowed in thought for a moment.</p><p>"What else has your so called weapon killed?"</p><p>"Five birds, ten rabbits, one deer, a handful of bats, countless mice and rats, and… and one human."</p><p>"Human?"</p><p>Macaque pulled out a familiar skull and approached the throne, offering it up. </p><p>DBK took it, and Mk snapped out of it enough to focus on the demon holding his skull, an irritated unease coiling inside of him.</p><p>Or maybe that was the mouse.</p><p>DBK handed it back to Macaque without ruining it, and Mk felt the unease relax back into the same anxiety that had been writhing since they'd come.</p><p>"Self-defense?"</p><p>"A hunt, my king."</p><p>"Impressive work," DBK said. </p><p>Macaque handed it to Mk. Mk clung to it, running his thumbs over the gashes in the bone until he felt like he'd begun to calm.</p><p>"I just need permission to continue training," Macaque said. </p><p>"Fine," DBK relented. "You may continue."</p><p>"Thank you," Macaque said. "Come, Mk-"</p><p>"You will continue here."</p><p>Macaque's tail twitched.</p><p>"…Of course," Macaque said. "As you say… my king."</p><p>"Do not forget who this alliance benefits most," DBK hissed. "Sarcasm would not be wise for he with the most to lose."</p><p>Macaque met the Bull's stare head on and did not wither nor waver.</p><p>"Of course, my king."</p><p>"I require more," DBK said. "Even if your so called… weapon… is as dangerous as you say, I have no proof that you have leashed it."</p><p>"What do you request?"</p><p>"The same as you promised me," DBK said. "I want his life."</p><p>Mk bit his lip hard enough to bleed, just to keep himself quiet.</p><p>"His does not work the same-"</p><p>"Did I stutter, Macaque?" </p><p>Macaque went silent.</p><p>"Mk," he croaked. "Promise it to him."</p><p>"Father-" Mk panicked- "you can't-"</p><p>Macaque activated the fillet. </p><p>Mk crumpled to his knees with a wail as the fillet sent agony throbbing through his every vein, stuttering out every coherent thought.</p><p>Words. Distant. The pain ceased.</p><p>Mk stayed on his knees, gasping as the world swirled back into sense. Macaque helped him up and eased him forward to the feet of the throne.</p><p>"Mk," Macaque said. "Do as you're told."</p><p>Mk let himself be pushed to his knees. DBK stared down at him, looming and smug.</p><p>Mk readied himself, already wincing for what he knew would come. But he was still the monkie kid.</p><p>He had to be.</p><p>"I swear my life… to Sun Wukong."</p><p>He clenched his eyes shut as DBK stood, but he felt Macaque drag him backwards and out of DBK's wrathful reach before the demon's weapon had finished its arc.</p><p>"I told you he wasn't ready, I need that time-"</p><p>"50 lashes!" DBK snarled. "I'll put him in his place myself! You've grown soft, Macaque, but I will fix his attitude myself!"</p><p>"Your majesty, may we speak privately?" Macaque begged, putting himself once more in front of Mk. "Please."</p><p>"…Fine. You have ten minutes."</p><p>The two left the throne room. Mk didn't dare to move.</p><p>It could have been ten minutes or twenty by the time they came back. Mk wasn't good at telling time anymore.</p><p>"100 lashes," DBK announced to the room.</p><p>"100? Father, even fifteen could probably kill him-" </p><p>"Do not oppose me, my son, not here! And most definitely not now."</p><p>Red scowled, but the demon shut up, crossing his arms.</p><p>"Do not sulk like a petulant child," DBk said. "It has been decided. Tomorrow, a hundred lashes will be given."</p><p>The Bull glanced at Macaque, his gaze lingering, before turning back to the room.</p><p>"Leave us," DBK ordered. "My… ally… and I have much to discuss."</p><p>A pair of Bull clones split from the rest and pulled him to his feet. </p><p>Mk let them drag him away, relieved to still be alive and in one piece. Somehow.</p><p>They tossed him into a room, locking the door behind them. Exhausted from the fillet and from his fear, Mk kicked off his shoes, transformed back into monkie form, and hid away under the covers of the bed.</p><p>He curled up in a ball underneath the comforter, wrapping his tail tightly around himself. </p><p>Mk laid there for a while before gaining the courage to peek his head out for some air. He closed his eyes when he heard the door unlock, and did his best to pretend to be sleeping.</p><p>The smell of mangoes and plums hit his nose and he relaxed. Macaque.</p><p>And then he remembered what the monkie had promised, should he fail him.</p><p>Mk felt Macaque pull the cover up, tucking it around the human, and he realised that Macaque must have assumed that he was asleep. He waited, but no repercussions came.</p><p>"I won't let him hurt you," Macaque whispered, gently ruffling Mk's hair. "I promise."</p><p>The monkie curled up next to him and pulled him close, humming a soft lullaby Mk had never heard before until he finally fell asleep for real.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This hurts me as much as it hurts you</p><p>Ch17</p><p>It's time for the result of Mk's rebellion, no matter how small it had been</p><p>Tw: extreme violence, very likely one of the darkest chapters of the fic, proceed with caution, viewer discretion is advised</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk ran, chased by a blood sea of liquid rats, the ultimate rat king, engulfing everything they passed in their ocean of blood. </p><p>The familiar red forest was being swallowed, the groan and screams of bending, snapping, blistering bark screeching through the dark sky. A great skeleton oak toppled, nearly landing on the tiger, but he jumped to the side just in time.</p><p>His paws skidded in the mud, scrambling for purchase and finding nothing. Mk collapsed on his side hard enough to knock the air from his lungs, and the blood sea swallowed him whole, liquid claws dragging him in deeper and deeper into their depths.</p><p>Blood flooded his nose and ears, stinging at his eyes. His lungs began to burn almost instantly, fire raging inside of him. </p><p>A hand grabbed him and yanked him up. He looked up, eyes widening as Mei yanked him up to the edge of a cliff of bones. His claws found purchase and he stared at his long lost friend in awe.</p><p>"Oh," Mei said, face blank and uncaring. "Sorry, I was looking for the Monkie Kid." </p><p>She let the monster go, dooming him to the hungry ocean of blood. </p><p>Mk woke up, his heart pounding, and gasped in a mouthful of air. Above his eye, the mark Rot's claw had left had begun to throb painfully, increasing gradually.</p><p>The bed beneath him was moving, a soft up and down, and only once the last of the sleep cleared from his mind did he realise he was laying on top of Macaque's chest. The bed wasn't moving. The older monkie was only breathing. </p><p>Mk rolled off to the side, burying himself against Macaque's side. He tucked his head against Macaque's fur, his tail wrapping around his own ankles, and curled up there.</p><p>Sleep did not return. After a while of trying, he gave up and sat up, peering down at his only guardian. </p><p>The only one who could keep him safe here.</p><p>And the one who brought him here in the first place, his mind spat at him. Fucking asshole.</p><p>Mk huffed and tried to curl up again, closing his eyes. Macaque grumbled in his sleep and grabbed Mk, pulling him close and resting his chin on top of Mk's head.</p><p>Mk wiggled free and climbed over to the other side. He rolled Macaque back onto his back and crawled up to his head.</p><p>Mk carefully forced one of Macaque's eyes open.</p><p>"Father," he hissed. "You awake?"</p><p>The pupil rolled over to stare at him.</p><p>"Psst," Mk hissed again. "Are you awake?"</p><p>Macaque scooped him up, pulling his head away and freeing his eye from Mk's grip.</p><p>"No," Macaque murmured. "Sleep."</p><p>Mk tried to squirm free, but Macaque had his arms pinned in the bear hug, and his tail was wrapping around Mk's legs, which meant he couldn't kick either.</p><p>"Father. Master. Macaque. Mac. Father. Master. Macaque. M-"</p><p>"What?" Macaque snarled.</p><p>"…Are you awake?"</p><p>Macaque let out an irritated growl, but it held no bite to it, only exhaustion. </p><p>But Mk couldn't care less if the larger monkie was tired or not.</p><p>"I am now," Macaque murmured.</p><p>"I'm hungry."</p><p>"We'll eat in the morning."</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"Do you want me to use the fillet?" Macaque growled.</p><p>"No you won't," Mk pushed. "You only do that when you think I deserve it. And- and my eye hurts."</p><p>Macaque sighed and sat up, bringing the smaller monkie with him.</p><p>Mk sat still as Macaque used his tail to grab the honey out of his bag, and he sat patiently as Macaque  put some onto the stitches.</p><p>Mk took a deep breath. Let it out.</p><p>"May I use 'wh' words?"</p><p>Macaque paused, fingers still against the stitches. After a tense silence, he resumed.</p><p>"Go ahead."</p><p>Mk perked up, not having actually expected a yes to that.</p><p>"When are we going home?"</p><p>"…We are home."</p><p>"No, I mean… to the cabin?"</p><p>Macaque seemed to think it over. Just when Mk was assuming he wouldn't get an answer at all, the monkie responded.</p><p>"After. I hope- no, yes, after this. After all of this. You, me, Lóng, and Wukong."</p><p>"Will the DBK family hurt Lóng, do you think?"</p><p>"Of course not, there's demons going to retrieve her and the truck, they'll be here in the morning."</p><p>"Really?" </p><p>"Really."</p><p>Macaque wiped the last of the honey off of his fingers and screwed the lid back onto the jar.</p><p>"Am I going to die today?"</p><p>Macaque froze.</p><p>"What?" Macaque asked.</p><p>Mk swallowed and looked down at his hands, wringing them. His injury was already feeling better, but the honey couldn't fix his dread.</p><p>"DBK said… he said-"</p><p>"Mk-" Macaque scooped him up, letting the smaller monkie cling to him like a lifeline- "I will not let him hurt you. Alright?"</p><p>Mk's grip only tightened.</p><p>"I promise," Macaque said. "Do you think I would ever allow for you to be punished so unfairly?"</p><p>After he got no answer, Macaque sighed and laid back down, pulling the blankets over them both. Mk let himself be smothered like a teddy bear, needing the comfort more than he was opposed to it.</p><p>"I only punish you because I love you," Macaque said. "By fixing your behavior, it improves your chances of survival. I only hurt you in order to help you. I would never, nor allow anyone else to, ever punish you unfairly. Do you understand?"</p><p>Mk curled up a little smaller, as if it would hide him from the events to come in the morning.</p><p>"Sleep. You are safe," Macaque murmured. "I am here. And I always will be."</p><p>Mk wasn't exactly sure whether that was comforting or threatening.. Perhaps it was somehow both. Either way, he let his monkie form fall and curled up against Macaque's side, closing his eyes and relaxing as he pretended he was being coddled by Wukong instead.</p><p>The larger monkie shifted, pulling Mk's face towards his chest. The faint memories of peaches dissipated in the face of the scent of mangoes and plums. Mk struggled to keep his true mentor in mind, but couldn't quite manage.</p><p>Mk fell asleep soon after.</p><p>There was food when he woke up. Mk ate in silence, Macaque refusing any Mk offered.</p><p>The knock upon the door came too soon, and Macaque opened it, standing tall as he did so.</p><p>Mk peeked around the monkie before quickly scarfing the last of the food into his mouth, avoiding the glance Red sent his way.</p><p>"My father-"</p><p>"I know where to go," Macaque said. </p><p>"He knows," Red said blankly. "Father sent me for M- for the Noodle Boy."</p><p>Macaque stared Red down. Red did not waver. Macaque glanced back at Mk, but the boy couldn't figure out the monkie's expression. </p><p>"I'll see you later, kiddo," Macaque said, and ruffled his hair.</p><p>And then the monkie was gone, leaving him alone. Leaving him in danger, leaving him-</p><p>"Follow me," Red said.</p><p>Mk winced at the cold tone, but did so, following as the demon turned and walked down the hall. The demon's hands were clasped behind him, his head held high. The very picture of prim and proper. </p><p>"Red?"</p><p>Red didn't glance back.</p><p>"I wasn't lying," Mk said. "About… about being your friend."</p><p>Red didn't answer. </p><p>The demon led him to a room, empty but for a beam stood in the middle, two chains hanging from it, metal bands on the ends. Mk's teeth chattered. Every cell within his body seemed to be shaking. He kept his mouth shut and said nothing.</p><p>There were two black boxes above a glass wall across from the beam, a few feet away from it. There was an identical room to his on the other side of the glass wall.</p><p>"It's best if you take off your shirt, just in case, I've seen demons who got cloth in the-"</p><p>"Don't take my shirt."</p><p>"But-" </p><p>"Please," Mk croaked.</p><p>For a moment, Mk figured Red would refuse. But the demon only nodded and picked up the cuffs hanging from the chains on the wooden beam. </p><p>"I'll need your hands," Red said softly.</p><p>Mk took in a shaky breath. His eyes burned, but he took another breath and offered his wrists.</p><p>Red closed the cuffs around Mk's wrists, carefully checking them over after.</p><p>"Are they too tight?" </p><p>"Does it matter?"</p><p>"I… suppose not," Red said. "But Macaque is stubborn, so I wouldn't be too worried. It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay."</p><p>"Worried? I'm about to be whipped to death."</p><p>"Probably not."</p><p>"Probably not?"</p><p>"I mean, considering the whole-"</p><p>"RED SON!" DBK roared. "Come, boy, this is already going to take up our morning and afternoon!"</p><p>"I'll see you after, okay?"  Red said, giving Mk's shoulder a squeeze before stepping back and out of Mk's range of vision.</p><p>After.</p><p>Mk could only hope there was an after.</p><p>The boxes at the top of the glass wall lit up. The left one blinked zero. The right blinked one hundred.</p><p>One hundred.</p><p>Mk would never make it through one hundred. He'd never even been through one.</p><p>Mk heard the doors open behind him, and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He could hear the clinking of metal, something heavy scraping across the floor, and he bit his lip in a futile effort to stop the trembling. His entire body was shaking like a leaf in the wind.</p><p>Fuck.</p><p>He was going to die here, wasn't he?</p><p>"You accept the terms agreed upon?" DBK spoke. </p><p>"Yes."</p><p>That was Macaque's voice.</p><p>Mk opened his eyes. On the other side of the wall, Macaque had pulled off his scarf and tunic, dropping both in a heap by the wall. The monkie leaned on the beam on the other side, unchained and wearing only his pants, his tail flicking in an almost carefree fashion. </p><p>His expression was stone. He didn't look Mk's way. </p><p>Mk was still, the tremble in his hands the only movement his body dared make.</p><p>On the other side of the glass, the demon holding the whip lifted it. </p><p>It made a snapping noise in the air. Mk would have barely known it had hit, it cut through so quickly, but for the sudden jerk of Macaque's body.</p><p>The zero in the boxes ticked to one. The one hundred ticked down to ninety-nine.</p><p>The whip cracked again.</p><p>Two. Ninety-eight.</p><p>Mk's breath caught in his throat.</p><p>Macaque didn't make a noise. Red was already dripping by the third. A puddle of scarlet was forming below him by the tenth.</p><p>Macaque was silent, staring ahead off into the distance. His entire form turned rigid with every crack of the barbed whip against him.</p><p>Mk wanted to scream. Wanted to puke. Wasn't sure how to feel.</p><p>He'd wanted Macaque dead. He'd wanted to kill Macaque slowly with his own hands. But faced with watching this, Mk couldn't find that familiar, comforting hate filled fire. He only found fear. Fear and guilt.</p><p>No. No, Macaque deserves this. He deserves-</p><p>On the twentieth strike, Macaque let out a shrill scream. The monkie's legs buckled, but he was dragging himself up again only moments later, braced against the beam.</p><p>By the thirtieth, Mk could make out the monkie's gasps of pain, Macaque no longer able to bite them down.</p><p>Mk closed his eyes and hummed over them. He wasn't sure how many times the whip had ripped bloody mouths into the only person he had here before Macaque let out the first scream. </p><p>He'd never heard Macaque scream before. </p><p>He never wanted to hear it again. It didn't sound human. Didn't sound natural. Mk hummed louder.</p><p>Everything went quiet soon after, the sobbed wails dying out. Mk opened his eyes.</p><p>Ninety. Ten.</p><p>On the other side of the glass, Macaque had collapsed into a crumpled heap. His fur looked wet, blood running fast across the floor. He wasn't moving.</p><p>Everything was quiet. A minute ticked by. A second. DBK motioned to a few Bull clones, who entered the other room and moved towards Macaque.</p><p>In the reflection of the glass, Mk saw the demon behind him raise his whip.</p><p>Mk's eyes were already burning and aching from his tears. He felt like he'd die before the first one would even land against him.</p><p>"Get up," Mk hissed. "Come on, get up. Please- p-please get up you have to get up Mas- Macaque- father, please-"</p><p>On the other side of the glass, Macaque struggled to his feet, and Mk nearly collapsed, himself, without having ever been hit.</p><p>Macaque looked a mess, his fur soaked with sweat and blood. The monkie's tail was limp, and blood dripped from his mouth like a faucet. His chest was torn from the times the whip had wrapped around. Tired eyes landed on Mk and moved over him a second later, a glare of warning focusing on the demon, promising retribution.</p><p>Macaque clung to the beam as if he would collapse again without it. Maybe he would. </p><p>Mk watched the monkie's eyes struggle to focus on the boxes before the monkie gave a sharp and shaky nod DBK's way.</p><p>The Demon Bull King's eyes narrowed. He seemed almost disappointed.</p><p>The demon behind Mk lowered his whip. The one behind Macaque lifted his once more.</p><p>Macaque collapsed the second the boxes hit one hundred to zero. Mk could barely breathe, feeling as if he was drowning again. He wanted- he needed to be numb, he needed to be anywhere but here.</p><p>Red entered the other room and crouched down beside Macaque. He pulled a small box into view, but DBK spoke before he could even open it.</p><p>"Leave him," DBK said. "Let him suffer through the result of his weakness." </p><p>"Father-" </p><p>"It is his own fault for being soft on the thief," DBK said. "Have the clones bring him to me when he wakes tomorrow."</p><p>"Father, wouldn't it be best to-" Red went quiet and shook his head- "of course, father. I have work to get back to anyways."</p><p>DBK motioned to the demon behind Mk, who put down his whip and walked over to the human. Mk tensed, but the demon only unlocked his cuffs from the beam without unlocking them from Mk's wrists.</p><p>The demon yanked on the chain, tugging Mk towards the door, but not before he caught sight of two Bull clones dragging Macaque's limp form across the floor, leaving a long red smear behind them.</p><p>Mk didn't make a sound as the demon dragged him through the halls. </p><p>His heart leaped into his throat at the blood trail leading into the room he was being taken back to.</p><p>The demon said nothing, and only unlocked Mk's cuffs and shoved him in.</p><p>Mk landed on Macaque and scrambled to his feet, gagging at the blood now soaking the front of his clothes. The nausea turned to horror within moments.</p><p>Macaque looked even worse close up. Mk ran to the bed and tore the sheets and coverings off of it. He ran back and dragged the limp monkie over and onto the mattress, ignoring the blood spilling down the front of his shirt.</p><p>"Macaque-" Mk shook the monkie- "get up- you need to tell me what to do- Master- Father, please, get up you can't keep your promise if you're dead, please-"</p><p>Macaque didn't respond. Mk checked for a pulse.</p><p>Faint. But it was there, and the monkie's chest was rising and falling in slow and sluggish heaves. He was alive. </p><p>Mk rolled Macaque onto his stomach to check the damage and a shaky cry escaped his throat. There was too much blood to even see what was hit. Mk reached, feeling across, and felt even sicker, head going a little light. Was there even a part of the monkie's back that hadn't been hit? </p><p>Mk closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Calm, he needed to calm down. Needed to be strong.</p><p>"Okay," Mk croaked. "It's going to be okay. I got you, father, I got you." </p><p>He found the jar of honey and rolled up the sheets. He pressed the sheets against the monkie's back, his lungs burning as they soaked through with blood almost instantly.</p><p>"I don't know what to do wake up you need to tell me please I don't-" </p><p>The door opened behind him. Mk leaped to his feet, ready to change form at a moment's notice.</p><p>Red Son.</p><p>"It's okay," Red said, clutching his box tightly against his chest. "It's okay, back up, I can do it."</p><p>"You're gonna help him?" Mk croaked.</p><p>"Duh."</p><p>Red hurried forward and dropped the box onto the bed.</p><p>"I know my father said to leave him, but- but we- I owe him for covering for me and the whole… misunderstanding with those demons yesterday, right?" Red pulled a syringe from the box. "Right. Yes. Yes, right."</p><p>Mk backed up.</p><p>"He's going to need more than that," Mk said.</p><p>"No, this is more than enough," Red said. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."</p><p>Macaque didn't even flinch when Red jabbed the needle in and pushed the contents into whatever blood stream the monkie could still possibly even have.</p><p>Mk waited, for what he wasn't too sure. He glanced at Red as nothing seemed to be happening, but the demon seemed unconcerned.</p><p>Mk nearly choked when he noticed.</p><p>Macaque's chest had stopped moving. The monkie, the only one he'd had for the past six months besides Lóng, laid motionless and limp. Mk scrambled forward, searching for the pulse.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>"He isn't breathing!"</p><p>"It's an overdose of euthanasia," Red said, closing the used syringe away in the plastic box he had brought. "He isn't meant to be breathing."</p><p>Mk's own breathing stopped. He crouched down beside the monkie. Checked again for a pulse.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>"Get out."</p><p>"What?" Red Son asked. </p><p>"Get out!" Mk shrieked. "Get the fuck out of here! Get out!"</p><p>Red stared at him with wide eyes. How dare he look confused!</p><p>How dare Red take Macaque away from him and have the gall to look confused!</p><p>Mk charged him, driving his shoulder into the demon's gut. Red fell back with a startled yelp, scrambling out of the human's path, but Mk was faster.</p><p>Mk caught the demon's ankle and yanked him back, but Red grabbed Mk's wrists in his hands and pulled him off, yanking him up to his knees.</p><p>"Stop!" Red yelled. "Mk, st-"</p><p>Mk bit him, chomping down on Red's hand.</p><p>Red cursed and grabbed onto Mk's neck, shoving him away. </p><p>Where Red's hand touched flared with pain, a thousand angry wasps stinging under his skin. Mk let go, shoving himself away, clawing at the burn.</p><p>Red darted to his feet and ran, slamming the door behind him, leaving Mk alone.</p><p>Alone.</p><p>No. Nonononono-</p><p>Mk darted to the door. He reached for the knob and froze, unable to push himself to touch it. </p><p>He paced back and forth, back and forth, tugging at his hair, before finally retreating. Mk panted, unable to pull air into his lungs fast enough. Pins and needles bit at his fingertips, a heavy fog casting the corners of his mind in black. </p><p>He curled up next to Macaque, and clung tightly to the monkie. Wanting- needing to find the usual comfort Macaque always freely gave.</p><p>But Macaque's hands stayed still on the ground.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Almost 4000 word chapter? More likely than you'd think</p><p>If you dont remember Mk being taken to carry out the lashing sentence you've gone too far</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk eased through the katas, the kid continuously glancing Wukong's way to double check that he was doing them correctly. He messed up, tripping over himself, and the Great Sage laughed and helped the kid up. The monkie patted the smaller monkie on the shoulder and showed him the kata again.</p><p>Macaque smiled, the monkie leaned so far back in his chair that if his tail wasn't wrapped around the table the chair probably would have sent his ass to the ground by now.</p><p>The dog wagged her tail, a steady thump against the ground, and Macaque spoiled the Tibetan with a scratch behind the ear. The thumps of her tail increased, and he laughed and ruffled the huge dog's floppy ears.</p><p>Hands covered his eyes, smelling of peaches.</p><p>"Guess who?"</p><p>"Hmm," Macaque hummed. "Could it be… a hobo, come to do away with me?"</p><p>"Ass," Peaches said. "No. It's a king."</p><p>"King of the hobos? I was not aware that they had a king."</p><p>A kiss against his forehead, and the hands pulled away. Macaque leaned back even further in his seat, tilting his head back. Peaches laughed and spoiled him with a soft kiss, lips warm and soft against Macaque's. They tasted faintly of peaches. They always did. </p><p>"Ewww!" Mk shrieked.</p><p>The two monkies pulled away, Macaque's chair thudding as he brought the feet back down.</p><p>He scooped up his little monkie, and Mk laughed as he was brought up and smothered with kisses, the little monkie shoving Macaque's face away with his hands.</p><p>"So gross!" Mk chirped. "Daddy, papa slobbered on me!"</p><p>Macaque laughed, his eyes closing in his delight.</p><p>When he opened them, his family was gone. The cabin was, too. Ahead, a god with the head of a bull sat on a hill overlooking the first home that Macaque had ever known.</p><p>Home.Too good of a word to be used for that place of cages and death.</p><p>Macaque let out a weary sigh.</p><p>The monkie sat down beside the god, following his gaze to the Tibetan cypress tree in the middle of the dirt arena below. He'd never seen it whole. It had been split since the moment he'd been born from its destruction.</p><p>"Yama," Macaque acknowledged.</p><p>"Wooden monkey."</p><p>"Dead again?"</p><p>"Dead again."</p><p>"Don't suppose it gets to stick this time?"</p><p>"Does it ever, old friend?"</p><p>"Yeah, yeah. Don't kid me, here. We're not friends."</p><p>"Oh?" Yama said. "And what would you call it, Macaque?"</p><p>"A bad habit of knowing people with bull heads for faces," Macaque growled. "How many times must we do this?"</p><p>Yama laughed. </p><p>In the clearing below, monkeys who had died eras ago screamed for salvation from the gods from within their cages as their fellows shed their lives into the dirt, lifeblood soaking down into the great tree's roots.</p><p>The gods would never answer, Macaque knew. The gods wouldn't even listen.</p><p>But the tree did.</p><p>The tree heard it all.</p><p>"Sun Wukong still lives," Yama said. "So must his shadow, as well."</p><p>"I was young. Young and foolish."</p><p>"Oh, silly me, centuries old is much too young to get consequences for stealing an identity and lying to the Buddha's very face."</p><p>Macaque huffed and looked down into the familiar clearing.</p><p>"I was… confused… by what it was that I wanted."</p><p>"Oh, yes, let me go tell the gods right away. The Six-Eared Macaque should be let off, for he only lied straight to the Buddha's face because he didn't know the difference between assuming another demon's identity and wanting in that demon's pants."</p><p>"It wasn't like that!"</p><p>Lightning struck the tree, and Macaque cursed, jumping again when he blinked and found himself within a familiar cage. A large and scarred macaque moved to the bars of its cage, trying to get a look at the remains of the split tree outside his cage.</p><p>Ning.</p><p>"What is this, Yama?" </p><p>"The most amusing show."</p><p>There was a thing in the middle of the now split tree, the air still smelling of ozone from the lightning strike. </p><p>Macaque watched Ning move to the very edge of his cage, the old monkey trying to get a better look at the thing. The thing rolled out of the ruined tree and thumped against the hard dirt. </p><p>A small baby monkey.</p><p>No. No, there was something wrong with it. It looked like a monkey, but there was something… different about the black furred little thing.</p><p>Six ears fanned out on its head a few times before fanning shut. Two little eyes peered out from a blood red mark covering its eyes. Macaque felt bile rise in his throat.</p><p>"Don't make me watch this, Yama."</p><p>Yama didn't answer.</p><p>The little monkie let out a squeak of alarm, rolling about as it tried to find its footing. It let out another squeak as it discovered its feet, and into its mouth went its toes. </p><p>Ning's expression softened. He bore the equivalent of a human smile and neared closer. The little thing was out of reach, Macaque knew, but Ning reached out through the bars even so.</p><p>A rat left the pile and moved to investigate, sniffing at the thing. </p><p>"Yama-"</p><p>"Shh. This is my favorite part."</p><p>The little monkie released its toes and cooed, reaching for the rat. It squeaked and took off, and the baby let out a shrill giggle before promptly figuring out it could sit up.</p><p>But the rat demons had taken notice. One scaled down from the bodies and approached the baby monkie, and Macaque felt his chest grow tight. </p><p>The baby cooed at the demon, reaching out with its little arms, beaming a big baby grin. </p><p>The young rat demon sniffed at the baby. Macaque almost let out a screech at the tiny idiot, but he knew he could do nothing from the cage. Nothing as a ghost of the future.</p><p>The rat snatched the baby up, biting into the little thing around the middle and picking it up. The infant's laughter turned to shrill squeaks of panic and pain. The other rat demons had taken notice now, and they swarmed down from the pile to steal the rat demon's find. The rat demon took off on all fours in the opposite direction, the baby infant still wailing in its grasp.</p><p>Ning lunged as the rat passed by within arms reach of his cage, snatching both rat and infant, the rat shrieking as Ning pulled the infant free and beat the rat demon into the ground.</p><p>The rat who would one day be given the name Rot managed to get free, running out of the cage and out of reach, one eye and one meal down, blood caking his face.</p><p>Ning pulled the infant close, cooing to it, wiping away its tears. Within his chest, Macaque's heart started to beat.</p><p>"You're an asshole," Macaque said.</p><p>"You deserve to remember," Yama said. "You keep treating death like a revolving door. Do you know how much paperwork I have to do everytime you swing in and out? What would Ning think, of you throwing yourself into harm just because you can?"</p><p>A monkie gasped, dragging air into his lungs. His heart stuttered and spasmed, sending pinpricks of icy needles shooting along every nerve as his brain kicked back online, neurons straining to fire once more.</p><p>Something shrieked from beside him, a warmth disappearing from his side. </p><p>The monkie rolled onto his side, coughing and hacking, lungs burning as the stubborn things were forced to start doing their job again. His heart ached, spoiled by its short vacation, but already new blood was pumping through him, chasing pins and needles into every bit of him. He sat up and let out a pained groan as he rubbed his head. It was still a little fuzzy up there, not everything quite turned back on yet. </p><p>Always made him feel like a human's damned computer, like he was booting up from a full system reset, or whatever humans called that sort of thing. But things were starting to come back to him. His name, the centuries upon centuries he'd been forced to trudge the long way through, the kid-</p><p>A small fist introduced itself to his face, sudden and without warning. He missed the next punch, then caught the fists on the next strikes. He didn't have enough hands, or alertness, to be prepared for the feet that curbstomped straight into his gut.</p><p>Macaque wheezed, slipping and falling on top of his attacker as he tried to get up. Whoever it was let out a piercing shriek of terror that grated against his ears. Vision kicked back in a moment later, and he gaped at who had started wailing on him. A smaller monkie. Looked like him. Smelled like him.</p><p>His?</p><p>It came back to him, his mind easily able to fill in any gaps left behind by what parts of his head were still rewiring themselves. Mk. He'd gotten him… back? Yes. Gotten him back, taking him from the peach orchard, Peaches hadn't even been paying attention.</p><p>"Don't eat me!" His kid screamed, pinned beneath him. "Please! I need my brain, don't eat me! Help! Help me! Zombie!"</p><p>"Kid, shut up," Macaque snapped, head pounding too much for such antics so soon after dying again. "I'm not going to eat your brain!"</p><p>Mk stilled, staring up at him with watery eyes.</p><p>"You're not gonna eat me?" The little monkie sniffled, his lip wobbling. </p><p>"No, I'm not going to eat you."</p><p>"Promise?" </p><p>"For the sake of- yes! Yes, I promise I'm not going to eat you! I'm not a zombie, kid, jeez."</p><p>He sat back, letting his kid go so that Macaque could stand up and stretch the stiffness of death away. Gods, dying always sucked.</p><p>His kid was covered in blood, but a quick check found no wounds. Macaque was covered in blood, too, but couldn't quite-</p><p>Ah. Now he remembered how he had died this time.</p><p>He'd rather not remember, but it was too late now.  He'd have to update the book and double check that everything was in order.</p><p>He rubbed his back as best he could. Being revived once more had healed most of the result of the punishment, but the memory of it left his back burning and sore. Macaque forced himself to shake it away, and focus on what was important. His kid.</p><p>"You… you were dead," Mk said.</p><p>"Kid, seriously?"</p><p>"You were dead!" </p><p>"I thought you knew that whole Journey to the West tale front to back. I was killed. Now, when I'm dead again, you're surprised by me not remaining dead again?"</p><p>Mk leaped for him instead of answering, burying his face in the fur of Macaque's chest, still stiff and matted with blood. The little monkie was shaking, sobbing against him. </p><p>"Hey-" Macaque wrapped his arms around his boy in return, cooing, rubbing the little monkie's back- "it's okay, kiddo, it's okay. Everything's okay."</p><p>"Y-you were so c-cold!" Mk sobbed. "Like a stone- like- your body was… just… it was... so cold and still. Like a stuffed animal, but freezing."</p><p>Macaque sat down and pulled his kid closer, rubbing his cheek against Mk's to try and comfort him.</p><p>"It's alright," Macaque promised. "I know, I know, it's okay, you're okay."</p><p>He let his son cry himself out, the boy sputtering words too garbled to make sense as actual words. He spoiled the boy with attention, not making a fuss even when his kid wiped a faceful of snot onto his fur. Macaque was already a mess, anyways.</p><p>But being covered in blood couldn't be healthy, even for a young demon.</p><p>Macaque stood, still holding his kid despite the fact that the little monkie was clung onto his fur and would have done just fine holding on by himself, despite having passed out, most likely exhausted by his own crying. Macaque couldn't help wondering if his kid had slept at all during the night.</p><p>Probably not. Macaque hadn't slept for days, after he lost Ning.</p><p>Macaque left the room and started towards one of the many bathrooms in the castle. He stopped as he passed by the kitchen, and rolled his eyes at the sight within. </p><p>The Demon Bull King only glared back at him, lowering the jug of milk he'd been chugging straight from the carton.</p><p>"Took you long enough," Bull said. "You usually only take a night. You were dead for the rest of yesterday and all night."</p><p>"There was a lot of blood to reform this time," Macaque said, not wanting to ponder on it. "If I had known you still roamed the halls in only a pair of boxers, I would have aimed to stay dead for longer."</p><p>Bull looked down at his boxer clad form and waved the gallon of milk at Macaque.</p><p>"What? A man can't walk around in his own house anymore?" </p><p>"Without pants?" </p><p>"Pants are stupid," Bull grumbled.</p><p>"And what'll you do if I disagree? Have me whipped to death again?"</p><p>"You dying is a part of this deal, Macaque. You should be used to it by now," Bull said. "Which reminds me, I want a session later. Wukong's been pissing me off."</p><p>"Dying isn't something you get used to," Macaque growled. "Yesterday… I need time."</p><p>Bull huffed and slammed the carton of milk down.</p><p>"Fine," Bull said. "I cannot blame you for that. But you were the one who demanded the punishment."</p><p>"He wouldn't have survived fifty lashes. Even if agreeing to taking the blame meant the amount being doubled, despite… I would not change it."</p><p>"It wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be," Bull said. "I should have had you take on Wukong's likeness for that, like our sessions. Would have been a lot more palatable."</p><p>Macaque frowned at the idea. It had already probably been bad for his son to see his own father in such a pitiful state. He could not fathom the damage seeing his other father in such a state could have done.</p><p>"I thought nothing could top the pain of some of the deaths I have gone through," Macaque said. "But that? Never again. Promise me."</p><p>"…Keep the boy in line, and we shall see."</p><p>"Promise me or our alliance ends here."</p><p>Bull took another swig straight from the carton instead.</p><p>"You know Princess Iron-Fan hates when you drink from the carton," Macaque said.</p><p>"The boxers distract her long enough for me to pretend I was getting a cup," Bull said. "I already agreed on my end that the duty of punishment of the boy would fall upon you and that I would stay my hand. You kept your end. Have I ever been known to back out of a deal?"</p><p>"No one is foolish enough to break a deal with me."</p><p>"True," Bull said. "Get yourself cleaned up. You still reek of death."</p><p>Macaque let out a huff of his own.</p><p>"Maybe I'll stay, then."</p><p>"I'm still pissed at you," Bull said. "Don't push your luck, Macaque. You promised me you would take Wukong out of the equation. The world could have been mine by now, and instead you're running around playing family with some human mortal-"</p><p>Macaque bared his teeth.</p><p>"He is mine," Macaque said. "Wukong will be mine. I get my land, I get Wukong, and you leave us out of it forever."</p><p>"I assume you want the thief's life included, now, as well."</p><p>"He's my son, of course he must be included."</p><p>"Yours?" </p><p>Bull's ears flicked, and he put the gallon down again and lumbered the few steps closer. The larger demon scented the air, his ears flicking again.</p><p>"You don't even have a mate."</p><p>"Look at him! Obviously he is mine and Wukong's!"</p><p>"Dying's confused you again," Bull said. "The boy is human."</p><p>"Then who are these supposed human parents?"</p><p>The larger demon frowned. Macaque could practically smell the smoke of the old gears struggling to turn in the big oaf's head.</p><p>"This isn't worth arguing," Bull said. "Leave me be."</p><p>"Because I'm right." </p><p>Bull picked up the milk so that he could slam it down. Macaque sensed he'd pushed as far as he could without repercussion, and carried on to the bathroom.</p><p>Mk roused while Macaque was filling the oversized tub. Macaque moved to put his kid in, planning on cleaning Mk and his clothes up first, but Mk began to shriek even before he'd so much as touched the water, and Macaque flinched back and away from the tub.</p><p>He checked the temperature of the water. It was neither too hot nor too cold. He turned his focus onto Mk, who was sobbing once more. </p><p>Oh. Fuck. </p><p>The river.</p><p>Cursing his own foolishness, Macaque drained the tub and turned the shower head on. </p><p>Mk calmed down quickly, until Macaque went to stand outside the bathroom so his kid could get cleaned up. His kid proceeded to throw such a screeching, tear filled fit that Macaque agreed to stay, and only then did the little monkie calm.</p><p>Macaque sent a passing clone to bring clothes and then sat in front of the door from within the bathroom, facing it, waiting while his kid got his shower done. The clone returned with clothes for the kid and an extra pair of his usual outfit for Macaque long before his kid was done. Macaque was always much more comfortable with the familiar than the new, and rarely changed it up, and he set the clean clothes aside to wait for when he was clean. </p><p>Mk left the shower running after he was finally done, bundled up to his neck in a large fluffy towel and dripping water from his still drenched fur, and tapped Macaque on the shoulder to let him know he could turn around. Macaque made a mental note to put more honey on his kid's stitches, knowing the effects wouldn't last as long after being washed off. </p><p>Macaque kicked his pants off only once he was in the shower and behind the curtain. The hot water was divine against his sore and aching body, washing away the blood and agonizing memories of the events of yesterday. </p><p>The water bill was on the Bull King family's dime, and Macaque was sure to make the most of it. By the time he finally bothered to turn the water off, he was clean and his fur was dripping with water. He squeezed the water from his fur and shook like a dog, shaking out what water he could before grabbing a hanging towel and tying it around his waist. Not that it mattered much, being covered in fur and all, but humanoids always make a fuss anyways and Macaque was anything but improper.</p><p>Mk was asleep on the floor, dressed now but still wrapped in a towel like it was a blanket. </p><p>Macaque used the time to get dressed before scooping his kid up into his arms. He left the bathroom and stopped in the fortunately empty kitchen to snatch some food for both him and Mk, then retreated to his room. Their room, really, at least for now.</p><p>He let Mk sleep, using the time to eat before settling down and grooming his kid. Grooming while Mk was asleep proved easier than when Mk was awake. Young ones always squirmed when they had to sit still for too long. </p><p>Mk was still fast asleep by the time he was done, and so Macaque stretched out on the bed, tucking the kid against his chest and under his chin. The bed was warm, his kid soft, and Macaque figured that after what he'd gone through yesterday, not to mention dying for the who knows what millionth time, he figured he deserved to spoil himself with some peace and quiet. </p><p>Mk's expression crinkled, his mouth quivering, hands grabbing tight handfuls of Macaque's tunic-shirt. Macaque hummed the old lullaby Ning would sing to him, softly petting the little monkie's cheek with his thumb. His little one relaxed, easing into a more peaceful sleep.</p><p>Macaque rubbed his cheek against his kid's the way he'd seen normal macaque parents do to their young. Mk's nose wrinkled, his face scrunching up, and Macaque found the action so adorable that he did it again just for his son's irritated expression.</p><p>With his tail, he pulled open the dwarer of the nightstand and pulled out the most recent of his journals. He shut the dwarer with his tail once the book was in his hands.</p><p>Macaque skimmed through it, checking the blanks in his head against his own written down memories. Everything seemed to match, and the terms 'our kid' and 'my kid' matched up with the assumption that Mk must be his.</p><p>He must be. Macaque wished he could remember having him. Had he been born? Or created like his parents, maybe springing forth from something absorbing the combined power of Macaque and Sun Wukong?</p><p>Macaque smiled at the thought.</p><p>He added the date and tally of the last death, and jotted down the day's events. A sentence caught his attention.</p><p>"There is no future in which Sun Wukong will ever love you," Macaque echoed. "Wen."</p><p>He frowned and scribbled it out with his pen.</p><p>"Well, now," he said, pulling their son closer. "He obviously loved me once. He'll love me again."</p><p>He pressed a kiss to his son's forehead, put the book away, and eased into a peaceful sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sorry it's super short</p><p>Tw/cw // body modification</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk was starting to think that something was wrong.</p><p>Well, there were many things wrong with his situation. But this one felt… new. </p><p>Macaque was acting odd. Odder than he already usually did. But Mk couldn't quite put his finger on how.</p><p>Then again, he'd never thought he'd find himself sitting at the DBK family's dinner table either. Maybe it was that, and it was just putting Mk more on edge.</p><p>Mk glanced over at Macaque, wondering if the monkie felt as awkward as Mk did. Sure, the DBK family weren't the monkie's sworn enemies, but the monkie had been-</p><p>Mk cut his brain off there. Down that route was nothing but anxiety, and Mk had enough of that already. Better off ignored entirely. Some things were better off that way.</p><p>"What have I said about blueprints at the table?" </p><p>The sudden sound of Princess Iron-Fan's voice made Mk jump.</p><p>"But it just needs a few more-" Red started.</p><p>"No work at the table."</p><p>"Yes, mother," Red grumbled.</p><p>The fire demon shoved his papers away with a bandaged hand, and picked at his food.</p><p>"Maybe you and the weapon can play video games later, if you behave," Princess Iron-Fan offered the grumpy young demon. "The adults need to have a talk."</p><p>"I am an adult," Mk and Red both said in unison.</p><p>Princess Iron-Fan chuckled at them and shook her head. </p><p>"Get your work done first, though."</p><p>"Of course, mother," Red said. "The machine and coding is already done, the comm device just needs a few more touches and enchantments. I already tested the remote."</p><p>"Will it be ready today?"</p><p>"I only need a few minutes."</p><p>"Good," she said. "And- Red, baby, what happened to your hand?"</p><p>Mk froze.</p><p>"Oh-" Red glanced Mk's way- "just… an accident in my lab, mother."</p><p>"You should be more careful," Princess Iron-Fan said. "You're no use to anyone hurt."</p><p>The rest of breakfast passed uncomfortably. For Mk, at least. After, before he could follow Macaque, the monkie pointed him towards Red, who waited by one of the doorways.</p><p>"Go with him."</p><p>Mk stared at him. Go with Red? Was Macaque forgetting, already, what had happened the last time that Mk had been told to go with Red?</p><p>Mk knew better than to argue and split off towards Red. </p><p>Mk waited until they were alone, walking through the halls, before hesitantly speaking up.</p><p>"I'm sorry I bit you."</p><p>"It's… fine," Red said. "I didn't know that you didn't know about his curse. I assumed- I shouldn't have made assumptions."</p><p>"I shouldn't- I don't why I reacted like that," Mk said. "I was an asshole about it. You were just trying to help."</p><p>"You think one little chomp from a mortal can take down the son of the Demon Bull King? Never!"</p><p>Mk cracked a small smile at that.</p><p>"It doesn't hurt, does it?"</p><p>"I said I was fine, didn't I?" </p><p>Red stopped outside a metal door and tapped a code into the pad while Mk pretended not to watch him do so. </p><p>The lab within was a little messy, filled with blueprints and sketches that made little sense to the monkie. Mk split off to explore the large lab, staring in wide eyed awe at the machines and half finished devices scattered on various tables.</p><p>Red grabbed his hand and led him through the lab. Mk caught a glimpse of a door, through which seemed to be Red's bedroom, but he didn't have time to see much of it.</p><p>Red had Mk lay down on a reclining seat, the monkie's nerves instantly kicking up as Red rolled a large machine over. </p><p>"Turn your head and stay still," Red ordered. </p><p>Mk did as he was told, but couldn't help fidgeting as Red started poking around in his right ear.</p><p>"Stop wiggling."</p><p>"Oh, sorry, let me just hold still while you jab sharp things into my ear."</p><p>"Unless you'd like to lose your hearing in your right ear should I slip even the slightest margin, then yes, that is exactly what I would advise."</p><p>Mk shuddered and did his best to stay still, his fngers tapping anxiously against the table his only movement aside from the rise and fall of his chest. The machine was loud, especially right next to his ear.</p><p>Red pulled the instruments from Mk's ear and situated the machine. The metal end looked much too long and much too sharp and pointy to have any business anywhere near his ear.</p><p>Red's hand pressed down on Mk's head, keeping him still. Mk put up with the gentle twitching of Red's fingers in his hair for half of a heartbeat before speaking up.</p><p>"Stop fiddling with my hair."</p><p>"I- I'M NOT FIDDLING WITH YOUR HAIR, NOODLE BOY! NOW SHUT UP, NO MOVING!"</p><p>Red started the machine, and Mk flinched. The hand on his head kept him still. </p><p>Mk's nerves started to fray as the end of the machine brushed against his ear. He could feel it moving inside his ear, and he started to squirm, half instincts and half common sense that he didn't want anything fucking around so close to his eardrum. Only Red's hand kept his head still.</p><p>There was a sudden stabbing pain, and Mk jumped and cried out, half in pain and mostly in surprise. Red kept him down and still, only letting go when the machine finally pulled out of his ear.</p><p>Mk sat up the moment he was let go and rubbed his ear so hard that it hurt. Red pulled his hands away before he could dig into his ear.</p><p>"Don't pick at it," Red said.</p><p>"It hurts!"</p><p>"Of course it does, the device has to integrate into your auditory system and cement itself by embedding into bone. That's why I numbed you beforehand, idiot."</p><p>Red seemed to notice Mk's distraught at the words and quickly backpedaled.</p><p>"Your- uh- your stitches should be able to come out by now. Wen's honey really speeds up the healing process, and it should be able to start healing up without the stitches. I can take them out- if- if you want."</p><p>"…okay."</p><p>Red led Mk into the bathroom and had him sit on the counter. Mk held as still as he could as Red brought over a pair of scissors and carefully started on the stitches.</p><p>"The honey does enhance recovery time, it's rather nice whenever I get cut during my work-" Red said as he pulled the last stitch- "there we go. How's that?"</p><p>Mk turned and stared at the monkie in the mirror. </p><p>He took a deep breath. Let it out.</p><p>He let his form fall into his human one.</p><p>Mk ran his fingers along the fresh scar across his eyebrow. So close to his eye. He could have lost it so easily- his hands were shaking now, and he quickly cut off that train of thought before it could spiral.</p><p>He swallowed hard. Choked on his own shaky breaths. </p><p>Mk shifted back. It was easier that way, to face a completely different face than the off feeling at seeing a vaguely familiar one that sat just off enough to be disconcerting.</p><p>"Mk?"</p><p>"I'm okay," Mk lied.</p><p>"It's… okay not to be," Red said. "It looks ho- cool- it looks pretty cool."</p><p>"You think so?"</p><p>"Yeah! Lets everyone know not to mess with you!" Red crowed. "Fear the Monkey Boy!"</p><p>Mk chuckled a little at that.</p><p>"Thanks, Red."</p><p>Red blinked, looking surprised at the words, before his face softened.</p><p>"It's whatever," Red said. "I'm just saying how it is."</p><p>Mk smiled a little.</p><p>"I think I'm up for some video games, now, if you want."</p><p>Red's face lit up.</p><p>"Yes! Get ready to be destroyed, Noodle Boy!"</p><p>"In your dreams!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mk and Red cause some hell</p><p>//Enjoy some fluff and fun for a change!!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Red! No!" Mk wailed. "No! Don't die on me, Red, we're almost there!"</p><p>"Forget about me! Go!" Red screamed. "Go! Save him! Get him out of here!"</p><p>"But everyone-" </p><p>"Forget about us! Save Chompski! He's the only one who matters!"</p><p>Mk leaped onto the helicopter and bashed an Infected across the head as it tried to follow.</p><p>"You're almost there, Red, just-"</p><p>Red went down.</p><p>Mk almost threw the controller. The helicopter took off into the night, only Ellis and the sacred gnome on board.</p><p>"Red!" </p><p>"It was the only way," Red said.</p><p>"You could have made it, if I had only just-"</p><p>"Of course, a simple peasant wouldn't understand the true subtle art of strategy and doing what must be done for the greater good-"</p><p>"We could have all made it out-"</p><p>The achievement popped across the screen. The two boys leaped to their feet and roared their whoops of victory. Gnome Chompski had been saved!</p><p>"Nevermind, fuck everybody else, we saved Chompski!" Mk crowed. "Yes!"</p><p>"Only took fifty times."</p><p>Mk beamed and let out a loud laugh. More of a giggle, really, not that he would ever admit it.</p><p>Five," Mk corrected. "I was counting. And we would have gotten it if it didn't disappear the second I dropped it the first three times."</p><p>Mk glanced up at the demon, then let his eyes glance back to the controller as they started the next campaign.</p><p>"…Noodle Boy."</p><p>"Um… yeah?"</p><p>Red shifted uncomfortably as his character, Nick, started defending his actions to the other characters as the campaign started.</p><p>"You're different."</p><p>Mk paused. On screen, Ellis almost took an Infected to the face at Mk's inaction.</p><p>"I just want to play the game," Mk said. "Let's not bring things up out of nowhere."</p><p>"Just because it's uncomfortable to talk about."</p><p>"Exactly-" Mk cleaved an Infected's head off- "drop it."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Please."</p><p>Red turned around, completely, looking down his nose at Mk. The look on his face made Mk want to punch him.</p><p>"You didn't ask," Red said, as if this meant something. "I implanted an entire invention into your ear and you didn't ask or even try to refuse."</p><p>"Like I could have refused."</p><p>"I was… not allowed to accept refusal, no."</p><p>Mk moved to cover Red's inaction, cutting a spitter off before it could nail Nick.</p><p>"And yet you still didnt ask. Not any of it," Red said. "Not a single question. Not even now, hours later."</p><p>"If I need to know, then somebody will tell me."</p><p>"You're not even curious."</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Not even a little."</p><p>"Nope," Mk said. "I can't cover you forever, Red."</p><p>The demon begrudgingly turned his focus back onto the game.</p><p>"Not even the slightest bit of curiosity?"</p><p>"Some things are better left not known."</p><p>"Like what?"</p><p>Screams echoed in Mk's ears.</p><p>"Red," Mk said quietly. "Please stop."</p><p>The demon grumbled, but let it drop. The silence lasted for an hour or two more between them, before Red paused in the middle of them making their way through the raging storm, the wails of witches ringing through the night. Mk waited for Red to resume the game, but Red only sat there, staring at Mk.</p><p>Mk waited a little longer, pretending not to notice Red's gaze burning holes into him.</p><p>The smell of smoke started to fill the room as the ends of Red's hair flickered with half-lit flames. The demon was growing impatient, and the two boys sat at a stalemate. </p><p>"You're not going to ask why I paused the game," Red said, the first to break.</p><p>"Nope."</p><p>Red put his controller down and crossed his arms.</p><p>"We're getting something to eat," Red finally decided. "I'm hungry, and we've been playing for hours."</p><p>The demon stood and left the room, leaving into the lab. Red didn't look back, but Mk scurried after him all the same.</p><p>Mk followed the demon through the halls, both silent. They were reaching an area ringing with the familiar hustle and bustle of a kitchen, the sounds sending homesickness cutting into Mk's chest.</p><p>Red held up a hand, and Mk stilled obediently beside the demon near the doorway. Red crouched, and Mk followed suit. </p><p>Red peered around the corner and waited. A few minutes passed before he motioned for Mk to follow and hurried in, still crouched down. </p><p>Mk followed, ducking behind a counter with the demon, peering over it alongside Red. A single chef wandered about the kitchen, a red panda demon, and she hummed to herself as she pulled a tray of red bean buns out of the oven.</p><p>"You see that?" Red whispered. </p><p>Mk nodded.</p><p>"That's Ru Shi. She's the cook."</p><p>"I can see that," Mk whispered back.</p><p>"We're taking the goods."</p><p>The desire to question burned its way up Mk's throat. He choked it down, ignoring Red's expectant stare. </p><p>The demon let out a disgusted grunt at Mk's lack of questioning and turned back to his self appointed task.</p><p>"Don't let her catch you," Red hissed. "If she sees you, run. Don't look back. Just run."</p><p>Mk shifted from foot to foot, biting his lip.</p><p>"She'll be on alert," Red said. "She-"</p><p>The demon dragged him down behind the counter the moment Ru Shi seemed about to turn. </p><p>"I'll distract her. She'll be expecting me," Red said. "You move in and secure the goods."</p><p>"Got it."</p><p>Red waited, peering over the counter. When opportunity finally came, the demon scurried out of sight.</p><p>There was an angry shriek only seconds later, and a loud smack. </p><p>Mk peeked over to see Red near the tray, holding his face, looking suitably chastised, while Ru Shi waved a spoon and began to scold Red like a furious mother who had caught her child trying to steal cookies before dinner. Red must have caught Mk out of the corner of his eye, for he motioned with his hand behind his back for Mk to make his move. The fire demon was gradually backing up, increasing the distance between Ru Shi and Mk's mission.</p><p>Mk took a deep breath and turned back to his human form. He was a mouse only seconds later, scurrying quickly across the floor and reforming on the other side, quickly shifting back into monkie form.</p><p>Mk reached up and inched the tray closer to the edge, then peeked up again to check. She was still scolding Red.</p><p>Mk reached up again and scooped up the tray, ducking down and army crawling towards the doorway.</p><p>"Mk! Run!"</p><p>Mk leaped to his feet and darted for the door, ducking under the arm that tried to scoop him up. By the time Ru Shi had reached the doorway, Mk and Red had disappeared down the hall. </p><p>Red tugged him into one of the rooms a few turns down, Ru Shi still shrieking. At least her anger seemed mostly focused on Red.</p><p>Red raced to a wardrobe and yanked it open, shoving aside several dresses and oversized shirts before pulling Mk in with him.</p><p>Red pulled the wardrobe door shut, leaving the two squished in the bottom, Mk still clinging tightly to their hard won prize.</p><p>Mk looked up and met Red's eyes, and the two erupted into stiffled laughter. They shushed each other, but it only made it worse.</p><p>"We make a good team," Mk said.</p><p>Red beamed a toothy grin.</p><p>"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, we really do, huh?"</p><p>Mk shifted, his knees knocking against Red's, the tray held between them. His tail wrapped around something. He glanced at it when whatever it was moved, his face burning a little as he realised he'd wrapped it around one of Red's ankles. He looked up and caught Red's eye. Was that a matching flush on Red's cheeks?</p><p>"Red, I-"</p><p>The door opened. Mk and Red both looked up, faces going blank as they met DBK's stare.</p><p>The demon bull king was… not wearing pants. </p><p>"….Why is your dad only wearing boxers?"</p><p>Red let out a shriek that nearly made Mk scream.</p><p>"You asked a question!" Red shrieked, his beaming smile nearly blinding.</p><p>"I… why are you two in here?" DBK asked. "What- Is that the dessert for tonight's dinner?"</p><p>"I know you ripped mother's favorite dress when it caught on your horn and then you threw it out," Red said.</p><p>"I never saw either of you," DBK said. "And nobody knows where the dress went."</p><p>"Deal."</p><p>DBK grabbed one of the buns and shut the door on them. </p><p>The footsteps had barely made it out before the sound of Ru Shi's wooden spoon hit a new victim with a loud and merciless crack, the red panda demon already shrieking at DBK for the stolen sweet.</p><p>"Should have known you put your tiny hellspawn up to that!" Ru Shi shrieked at the demon ten times her size. "Always you! Always causing trouble! Five hundred years I had peace, and you come back, stealing my work, spoiling your dinner, for shame! For shame!"</p><p>DBK sputtered, but the relentless she-demon accepted no apology, the large demon panicking as Ru Shi declared a promise to "inform Madam Iron-Fan" of DBK's "childish, shameful antics" and the two loud voices faded down the hall.</p><p>Mk and Red kept their cool for all of five seconds before erupting into cackling laughter. A matching pair of shrieky hyenas, Mk supposed.</p><p>Mk picked up one of the buns and took a bite. </p><p>So worth it.</p><p>"Thank you," Mk said softly.</p><p>Red offered a soft smile.</p><p>"…Anytime, Noodle Boy."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With Macaque gone from the table, dinner is a little awkward for Mk</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk was confused to find that Macaque wasn't at the table at dinner. </p><p>He sat himself close to Red, trying to stay small in his seat. At least DBK had bothered to wear clothes to the meal, even if it was only shorts and an old looking, ragged shirt.</p><p>The food was spicy, and Mk only managed a few bites out of politeness. He was thankful for having stuffed himself full of buns earlier.</p><p>"How did it go?" Princess Iron-Fan asked.</p><p>"Successful," Red said. "It just needs field tested."</p><p>"You were supposed to test it after installing it," DBK said.</p><p>Mk kept himself focused on his plate. Interrupting would only make things hostile, especially without Macaque there to protect him. He glanced around, but the monkie still remained missing from the table. Feeling anxious, Mk scooted his chair a little closer to Red.</p><p>"My lab did not seem to be the best place," Red said. "Do you know how much fragile equipment is in there, father?"</p><p>DBK huffed and flicked an ear.</p><p>"You have the remote?" </p><p>"Of course I do."</p><p>"Give it to me."</p><p>Red paused, food dropping from his chopsticks.</p><p>"I thought I was holding onto it."</p><p>"Why would I leave this to you?" DBK asked. "Hand it to me."</p><p>Red hesitated, glancing Mk's way. He looked almost… guilty.</p><p>But he pulled a remote from his pocket and slid it across the table to his father.</p><p>The remote looked hilariously small in the bull demon's hand. He inspected it, running a finger over the buttons, before handing it to his wife. </p><p>"Macaque never mentioned you in our terms," DBK said. "I trust your judgement, Princess Iron-Fan. The monkie should not make a fuss with you using it wisely."</p><p>Princess Iron-Fan examined the buttons, herself, before pressing one. </p><p>A ringing started up in his right ear. Mk was able to ignore it for all of two seconds before it became too much to put up with. He dug his nails into his ear, but Red grabbed his wrist in a tight grip before he could do any damage. </p><p>The buzzing stopped, and Mk did, too. His ears still slightly rang, but the noise itself had ceased.</p><p>"What are the other two?" Princess Iron-Fan asked.</p><p>"Recordings of Macaque, mother-" Red still clung to Mk's wrist, but didn't look at him- "the fillet is, well, obvious, and the skull is the whistle."</p><p>"And the first one?"</p><p>"Think of it as… incentive. The fillet seems a bit overboard, and I decided it should be more of a last resort sort of thing. The first emits a noise that irritates rather than harms."</p><p>"Perfect," Princess Iron-Fan said. "You've outdone yourself, my son."</p><p>Red beamed, lighting up at the praise. He didn't seem to notice as Mk yanked his wrist free of his grip.</p><p>"Thank you, mother."</p><p>The dinner faded back into silence. Mk hesitated before nudging Red with his foot under the table to get his attention.</p><p>"Thank you," Mk whispered.</p><p>Red looked down at his food.</p><p>"Just seemed a bit much, is all," Red whispered back. "There should be an alternative that doesn't… whatever... Is your food okay?"</p><p>"I'm still a little full."</p><p>"Don't let Ru Shi catch you saying that."</p><p>Mk covered his mouth to stiffle a laugh, and Red shot him a smile.</p><p>"I want something to keep him within the castle," DBK said. "We cannot expect someone to always be available to keep an eye on him, and a Bull clone would be easily dealt with even without the Monkey King's staff."</p><p>Red cleared his throat, turning his attention away from Mk and onto his father.</p><p>"Like a barrier?" Red asked.</p><p>"How about a shock collar?" Princess Iron-Fan offered dismissively. "I hear the invisible fences seem to work well for dogs."</p><p>"A shock collar seems a bit much, especially for a human," Red said. "Clunky, as well, not to mention Macaque already-"</p><p>"You're being disrespectful," Princess Iron-Fan said. "We are not asking."</p><p>"Sorry, mother. I'll figure something out that works for everyone."</p><p>The rest of dinner passed in awkward silence. Mk went to go with Red when it was finally over and they could leave, maids and bull clones beginning to clean up the meal, but DBK grabbed him by the scruff and took Mk with him, instead. Mk stayed silent, walking obediently by the demon king's side when he was finally put down, all too aware of what snark would get him. DBK said nothing to him, clearly confident that Mk would cause no trouble even without the so called remote that now laid in Princess Iron-Fan's possession.</p><p>He was right, of course. Mk had no staff and no bearings. He wasn't risking pissing off the Demon Bull King, himself, especially when put to a heavy disadvantage.</p><p>Mk followed DBK, going and getting ready for bed in the bathroom they stopped at when he was told to. After, he followed for a while longer before being left to stand idle while the demon pushed a metal door open. </p><p>Mk peered past him out into the greenhouse beyond the door. Balls of light floated along random paths, casting fake sunlight amongst plants that Mk had never seen nor heard of before. At least the grass that made up the ground was familiar.</p><p>At the far side was a patch of concrete, decorated with a line of bronze barred cells. It was a long moment between the excitement at spotting Lóng in one of them and the realisation that he was looking at a row of kennels before it clicked that DBK was opening an empty one.</p><p>The demon picked him up and dropped him in, clicking the latches shut behind him. </p><p>He turned and stared up at DBK, but still the demon said nothing to him, already turning to leave.</p><p>Mk took one look around before letting out a shriek. The sound set Lóng and a few unseen dogs into an uproar. He'd held the singular note for all of three seconds before DBK slammed his fist against the bars, silencing both the dogs and Mk all in one action.</p><p>"What?" DBK snapped, finally addressing him. "Why are you screaming? There's food, and water, and-"</p><p>"-I don't like being alone."</p><p>DBK paused, frowning as he looked down on the monkie.</p><p>"I was alone for so long, please don't leave me alone," Mk pleaded. "Please- please I'll do anything, just don't leave me alone."</p><p>The Demon Bull King sighed after a moment of stone-like motionless, a long drawn out huff of air. He undid the latches and opened the door.</p><p>"Fine," he grunted. "Come."</p><p>Mk did not need told twice. He scrambled out of the kennel, nearly flattening himself against DBK's leg. </p><p>DBK said nothing more the entire trek to a different room, a five minute walk from the kennels. It was big inside, with fancy furniture and the biggest bed and dresser that Mk had ever seen.</p><p>"What is that?"</p><p>Mk jumped at the sound of Princess Iron-Fan's voice, narrowly keeping himself from clinging to DBK's leg.</p><p>The princess sat up in the bed, wearing a nightgown and looking rather unimpressed at seeing Mk in what seemed to be her room. Their room, Mk supposed, considering it seemed DBK and Princess Iron-Fan shared one.</p><p>"The human?"</p><p>"I can see that," Princess Iron-Fan said. "What I don't know is what the human is doing in our room."</p><p>DBK shifted anxiously under his wife's scrutiny.</p><p>"It would be best to keep an eye on him," DBK said. </p><p>"The kennels are enchanted, he wouldn't be able to get out."</p><p>"He'd smell like dog at the table."</p><p>"The dogs are bathed weekly, they don't smell."</p><p>"He-"</p><p>Princess Iron-Fan groaned in exasperation and rubbed her face.</p><p>"Is this about the mountain again?" She asked.</p><p>"...He doesn't want to be lonely."</p><p>"You're absolutely useless outside the crown, you oaf. You know that?"</p><p>"It gets lonely by yourself," DBK huffed. "Not that I care. I don't care."</p><p>"Of course you don't."</p><p>"It's to keep Macaque happy."</p><p>"Oh, and I'm sure having his head disconnected from his shoulders must have him overjoyed."</p><p>"I got carried away."</p><p>"You say that every time, doesn't change the fact that the monkie is useless until he comes back."</p><p>"The little thief can sleep on the floor."</p><p>"Fine."</p><p>DBK opened a nearby cabinet, pulling out an extra blanket, and pulled the throw pillows off of a nearby chair.</p><p>"Floor or chair?" DBK asked.</p><p>"Floor's okay…"</p><p>DBK set them down on the floor in more of a heap than any proper sort of sleeping arrangement. </p><p>Mk curled up on the blanket, pushing it and the pillow around until he was comfortable. Between the warm room and his fur, he had little need to use the blanket as anything more than a makeshift bed. </p><p>"You're useless," Princess Iron-Fan said as the Demon Bull King got into bed. "Absolutely useless."</p><p>"I love you, too," DBK said.</p><p>Mk heard the princess laugh at that, and then the slightest sound of a light kiss, before his two arch-enemies settled down for bed.</p><p>Mk wasn't sure how long he dozed before the sound of a bell woke him up. For a few seconds, he simply blinked his heavy eyes, listening to the sound but not truly registering it in his mind. </p><p>"I got it," DBK murmured.</p><p>"Keep indulging him and he'll get spoiled."</p><p>"You've already spoiled him. Watch the human."</p><p>"He's asleep."</p><p>DBK only 'hmphed' before the demon got up and stumbled out the door, hitting a switch on his way out, and the ringing ceased.</p><p>Mk woke up a little when the door opened again, signalling DBK's return. </p><p>"-and then- oh. Noodle Boy. I didn't know he was in here."</p><p>"Shh, don't wake the thing," DBK said. "Somebody needs to be able to keep an eye on the sneaky little thief, and Macaque is unavailable."</p><p>"I'm going to sleep down here with the idiot," Red said. "So I can keep an eye on him."</p><p>A thud as a blanket was promptly dropped next to Mk's little bed.</p><p>"You sure?"</p><p>"Yes, father. I'm fine right here."</p><p>Mk heard DBK huff once more.</p><p>"Sleep well," DBK said. "We're up here if you need us."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>Mk could practically sense Red laying down a little bit away from him, his blanket next to Mk's. The fire demon practically radiated warmth. Red was restless for a couple of minutes before finally seeming to settle.</p><p>Mk shifted over a little bit until he felt his back bump against Red's. The fire demon said nothing, but Mk felt the demon's back tense before relaxing again. </p><p>Feeling less lonely with Red's back against his own, Mk fell into a peaceful sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>If you dont remember DBK being a fuckin softie youve gone too far</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk wobbled, trying not to drop the staff balancing on one end on his nose. He almost slipped from the rock he stood on, and he flapped his arms wildly until finally catching his balance.</p><p>"This doesn't seem that heroic, Monkey King."</p><p>"Yeah? Neither does falling on your face," Monkey King said. "Trust me, kid. Finding your balance will make everything you do easier."</p><p>His mentor rounded him, smiling fondly in the corner of Mk's vision. </p><p>"Lean too much, and everything falls," Monkey King said. "Hmm, you're leaning a little too much to the left."</p><p>Mk hurriedly shifted to the right. The staff collapsed, gravity taking it, and the rock slipped out from beneath his feet as Mk tried to adjust his balance to account for it.</p><p>Monkey King caught him before he could crash land, the monkie laughing as he put Mk down and ruffled his hair out of order.</p><p>"Monkey King! So not cool!"</p><p>Monkey King wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and patted Mk's shoulder. The monkie sobered up a little, a soft smile growing on his face that Mk couldn't help but smile back at.</p><p>"Trust your own judgement, kid," Monkey King said. "Fo-"</p><p>"Yeah, yeah-" Mk fixed his hair- "focus. I know."</p><p>Monkey King ruffled his hair back out of order.</p><p>"You're a good kid, Mk. You've got a good heart. A better one than I had when I was young. Let it guide you."</p><p>Mk gave a sharp nod.</p><p>"Okay-" Monkey King picked up the staff- "back to the lesson, son."</p><p>"Oka- wait, what?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>Mk opened his mouth, then shut it. This… wasn't how that lesson went. He could remember, a little clearer now. They'd tried five more times, then sat and ate peaches by the beach, Mk entranced by Monkey King's first hand accounts of some of his adventures.</p><p>But Monkey King had never once called him son.</p><p>Ever.</p><p>"...I miss you," Mk croaked.</p><p>"What are you talking about, kid? I'm right here."</p><p>Mk leaped forward, wrapping his arms tight against Monkey King's waist, burying his face and tears in his mentor's chest. Even if the golden chestplate wasn't the comfiest thing in the world, he never wanted to let go. Not again. Not ever again.</p><p>Monkey King hugged him back, rubbing his back.</p><p>"Mk?"</p><p>"I'm sorry," Mk sobbed.</p><p>Monkey King pulled back and cupped Mk's face, looking his apprentice over. The monkie tilted his head, expression one only of concern.</p><p>"Sorry?" Monkey King asked. "For what?"</p><p>Mk woke up with his arms pinned. He squirmed in panic for all of two seconds before realising Red had rolled over and smothered him at some point in the night. The demon held him tightly, as if the monkie was nothing more than a rather large stuffed animal, his head resting against Mk's furry head.</p><p>Mk relaxed. Red was warm, and it was… nice. </p><p>Mk settled back down and squirmed until he'd managed to roll over without waking his friend up. He curled up against Red's chest, closing his eyes and basking in the warmth.</p><p>He was lucky to have found such a good friend in Red Son.</p><p>His throat was making an odd noise, a rumble that started up and only grew louder. It startled him and he jumped a little bit, confused at the noise. It sounded like purring, but he was pretty sure monkeys didn't purr. Or, at least, they weren't supposed to.</p><p>But the loud vibrating rumble was comforting. He closed his eyes, letting out a tired yawn before resting his head against the other demon's chest. He smelled like burnt sugar, and Mk found that he rather found it even more comforting than peaches or plums.</p><p>Noise from the bed. Mk panicked and pretended to be asleep as DBK rolled out of bed, keeping his eyes halfway closed and stiffling his giggles at the large demon throwing his weight a few times in order to get up, finally managing once he got enough momentum.</p><p>The large demon stepped over the boys entirely, scratching at the base of his horns as he yawned. The demon rubbed the ends and sides of his horns against a well worn part of the wall, still seeming partway half asleep.</p><p>Red shifted, and Mk closed his eyes entirely. Red pulled away carefully, as if not to wake him, and Mk almost frowned at the sudden lack of warmth.</p><p>"Sleep well?"</p><p>"Shut up, father."</p><p>DBK only laughed.</p><p>The morning went mostly normal, after that, and breakfast was a quiet affair. Macaque joined them halfway through, rubbing his neck and stretching as if there was a crick he just couldn't crack.</p><p>Mk scooted his chair over to Macaque, and made sure not to mention anything about it. </p><p>Macaque was quiet, his voice raspy and inaudible whenever Mk tried to pull a word out of him. The monkie chugged glass after glass of water, the servants having to return to the table near continuously.</p><p>Mk didn't complain about going with Red later, the two playing video games instead of Red working on what he was supposed to be. The arrival of a Bull Clone pulled Red from the game, and Mk paused it to wait. </p><p>He grew bored of waiting soon enough, and Red had not explicitly told him to remain where he was, so Mk stood and left the room.</p><p>Red was working at his laptop on the far side of the lab, a few Bull clones on standby near him. </p><p>Mk hadn't seen it at first with some of the things that had been in the way in the semi-cluttered lab, but up close it was hard to miss the near perfect replica of the city. Mk walked up to it, letting his fingers trail across the replicas of streets and buildings so familiar that it made something in him ache.</p><p>"Mk?" </p><p>"M'fine."</p><p>"Really? Cause I called your name five times before you answered."</p><p>Mk ignored the jab and examined the miniature city. It was full of pins, and had strings of various colors strung over roads and buildings in a haphazard, crisscrossing line. They were interlocked and pinned with pins of varying colors.</p><p>Mk reached towards a black pin jabbed into the golden string. Red's hand snatched his wrist before he could touch it.</p><p>"Don't touch any of it, Noodle Boy!" </p><p>Mk flinched, and Red's flaming hair instantly extinguished.</p><p>"Sorry-" Red averted his gaze and let go- "I've been working on it for months. More time spent since you and Macaque arrived. I cannot afford for even the slightest mistake."</p><p>Red picked up a singular purple pin, the only one of its color, and stabbed it into a side street. Mk knew that one well. The majority of the time he'd spent on the streets had been spent returning to it every night. Out of the way, hard to notice if you weren't paying attention. Perfect for one lone street rat to spend his nights.</p><p>Red turned, examing the golden string and the black pin. There were a few red pins near it, one or two white pins here and there, but Red seemed to care only about the black one.</p><p>Red ran his finger along the golden line, from one black pin to the next, leading the line past the purple pin. The demon grinned.</p><p>Mk's stomach dropped.</p><p>He took a step back to see the giant replica better. It was nearly painted in golden thread, the lines coated with white pins, a handful of red, and only a sparse few black pins. It painted a spiderweb across the city, interwoven where it crisscrossed with the other colors.</p><p>Green. Pink. Blue.</p><p>And so, so much gold.</p><p>"Red? What are you doing?"</p><p>Red's smile faltered. The demon cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, tone lacking its usual enthusiasm when he spoke.</p><p>"Macaque wants him alive, if it… makes you feel better."</p><p>Mk's eyes burned. He stubbornly pursed his quivering lips and looked back at the display. </p><p>Only a few black pins: the path leading up to the Shame Temple, above Pigsy's shop, and the two on either side passing by the alley.</p><p>"The only places he stops every time," Red explained, as if it would help. "Red, occasionally. White, usually only once or twice."</p><p>"How much?"</p><p>"Every day," Red said. "It started to filter down and even stopped entirely for a few days. But ever since he showed back up after that absence, Sun Wukong has been scouring the city day and night without stop."</p><p>Red sighed and averted his eyes from the monkie.</p><p>"He won't be at the top of his game. My scouts say he hasn't stopped for anything. He's starting to slip, and that works in our favor."</p><p>"Your favor!"</p><p>"Mk-"</p><p>"I thought you were my friend!"</p><p>"I am," Red cried out desperately. </p><p>"No- no- no-" </p><p>Red reached for him. Mk yanked his hands away, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. His tail curled so tightly around his legs that it almost hurt as much as the choking pain in his chest and throat.</p><p>"Why don't you just go wait for me?" Red offered. "I'll be in soon, I just have to finish up a few things."</p><p>"I'm fine here," Mk snapped.</p><p>"Okay," Red said softly, the same way someone might talk to a panicked animal, and Mk hated it so much the feeling burned. "Okay, just… stay right there, then."</p><p>Red turned to his laptop.</p><p>It was on impulse. Mk's hand was moving before he could even think.</p><p>Mk moved the black and purple pins. His heart pounding, he did his best to look innocent by the time the demon stopped and looked over his shoulder.</p><p>"Do you want to go back to our game when I'm done?" Red asked. "I'll just be a minute."</p><p>The demon looked painfully hopeful.</p><p>Too choked to speak, Mk could only nod.</p><p>Red had only just started to turn when the door to the lab opened. Both boys froze, watching silently as DBK entered and neared them. </p><p>The demon was wearing his armor, and Mk tensed up immediately.</p><p>"Father-" the demon glanced from his dad's face to the armor then back again- "you-"</p><p>"Do you have a plan in place yet?"</p><p>Red fiddled nervously with his hands as DBK examined the model.</p><p>"I just need to figure out where mother and I will be, father. I thought Macaque could go over here, and-"</p><p>"I'm doing this alone."</p><p>All of the nervous energy went out of Red entirely, replaced with clear panic.</p><p>"Father, you can't take him on alone!"</p><p>"Do not argue with me, Red," DBK ordered.</p><p>"The last time you faced him alone you-"</p><p>"Silence, boy!" </p><p>"NO!" </p><p>Mk backed up, waiting for DBK to lash out against such a horrid word being uttered in the face of an order.</p><p>But… he didn't.</p><p>The giant demon only stood silent, staring down at Red. The fire demon was nearly shaking, tears starting to seep from his eyes as he cleched his hands into fists.</p><p>"You can't leave us again," Red begged. "Father, please, just let us help."</p><p>The stone expression of the enemy Mk knew softened into the face of the one he'd started to meet the last few days. The one seemingly reserved only for the demon's wife and son. </p><p>"I cannot afford to see him rip you away from me a third time, and I refuse to see him take your mother even once," DBK said. "Your mother is not to know of these plans. Do you understand?"</p><p>"…Yes, father."</p><p>The demon patted his son's shoulder a single time. His eyes stopped on Mk only once. </p><p>"See the weapon to Macaque," DBK ordered.</p><p>"You're taking him to face Wukong?"</p><p>"No. I am no fool," DBK growled. "But should I fail, I need the back up plan on his way to being ready for battle as soon as possible."</p><p>"Of course, father."</p><p>The boys watched DBK leave in unified silence. When Red finally let out a shaky breath and started for the door, Mk followed without a word.</p><p>He glanced back only once.</p><p>He did the right thing, he told himself. It was for the best. It was the heroic thing to do. It was.</p><p>For Monkey King, he told himself sternly. </p><p>And it was a little easier to stomach.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hope you guys liked the fluff break! :)<br/>😇</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk didn't say anything as they walked, despite a word here and there from Red. The demon eventually gave up attempting conversation, and the two walked in silence other than Red stopping one of the bull clones to ask after Macaque's location, Red somehow understanding the thing's grunting.</p><p>Macaque was training when they found him, the monkie shut away in one of the dojos, wailing on a dummy with his shadow staff. The air held a staleness to it, as if the room wasn't used much, and the monkie had obviously only recently moved boxes out of the way. A good portion of said boxes were shoved into the corners.</p><p>"The servants use it for storage, but he uses it when he's here," Red said to Mk. "They'll move things back the next time he leaves."</p><p>"He leave often, then?"</p><p>"Macaque always leaves. He doesn't stay anywhere with anyone, and I think it's always been that way," Red said. "That's why I was so surprised by you, at first, but it makes more sense. I'm still surprised he's stuck around now that he got you here, but not as much anymore."</p><p>"I hope you boys weren't trying to be stealthy," Macaque called out to them, voice stronger than it had sounded earlier. "I've taught both of you better than that."</p><p>"Nobody is stealthy to you, Six-Eared Macaque," Red said. "Father wants the weapon ready for battle."</p><p>Macaque paused and dissipated his staff, finally turning to face them. </p><p>"Should touch up on you, as well," Macaque said. "Heaven knows what fools have been training you in my absence."</p><p>Red visibly stiffened.</p><p>"Father has, thank you," Red snapped out.</p><p>"As I said," Macaque said. </p><p>Red huffed and crossed his arms.</p><p>"I do not need a babysitter. I have my own work-" Red grabbed Mk's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before letting go and clearing his throat, the demon stepping away- "I'll… see you later, Mk."</p><p>"If you sneak out back to the Undermarket, bring me something nice," Macaque said.</p><p>Red flipped Macaque the bird as he left, shutting the door behind him with a resounding thud.</p><p>"It's been too long for you, too, little one," Macaque said. "Come on."</p><p>Mk hurried over without argument, standing by the monkie. His tail wrapped idly around Macaque's ankle, reassuring himself of the monkie's presence.</p><p>"You use your tail as if you were born without one," Macaque chastised.</p><p>"But I w-"</p><p>Macaque bared his fangs, and Mk quickly shut himself up.</p><p>"Wukong may have sheltered and spoiled you, but the world has no mercy nor kindness for sheltered, spoiled children," Macaque said. "Sit."</p><p>Mk sat, copying Macaque's lotus position.</p><p>"Copy."</p><p>Macaque's tail swept to the left across the ground.</p><p>Mk bit his lip. It took him a few minutes to shakily move his tail on purpose, but Macaque sat patiently across from him. Finally, he got his tail laid out to the left.</p><p>Macaque's tail swept to the right of him. It was a little easier to manage than before, the smaller monkie managing the move a little quicker. </p><p>Macaque ran Mk through a few more before lifting his tail straight up. Mk managed to copy it, and then they practiced moving it left and right while standing up.</p><p>Macaque again ran Mk through a few more, only stopping when he accidentally got Mk seemingly wagging his tail at how quickly he was copying the back and forth, and the older monkie almost fell over in his sudden laughter. Mk gave Macaque a dirty look, and the larger monkie managed to settle down, a light smile still on his face as he started getting Mk to practice curling his tail.</p><p>"There we go-" Macaque smiled, a look of pride on his face- "good job, kiddo."</p><p>Mk puffed up at the praise, his tail flicking about excitedly.</p><p>"Now let's practice trying to pick things up, and then we can move to supporting yourself on it."</p><p>Mk was still having trouble with trying to pick things up by the time the hours had long since passed into dinner time. Macaque dismissed training for the day, and the two stood and moved for the door.</p><p>"Father?" Mk asked.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>Mk followed Macaque out, the larger monkie's tail flicking lazily while Mk's jittered like an anxious snake.</p><p>"May I ask you something?"</p><p>The larger monkie paused just outside the doorway. After a moment of anxious silence, on Mk's part at least, the monkie relented.</p><p>"Very well. Go ahead."</p><p>"DBK is going to attack Monkey King tonight."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"And-"</p><p>"Mk-" Macaque rested his hand on the smaller monkie's shoulder- "leave the worrying to me, my boy. Everything will be-"</p><p>Bull clones rushed past, a dozen, maybe more. The monkies both jumped back from the hall with a shout to avoid being trampled. </p><p>Macaque said nothing, hurrying after the bull clones, and Mk followed quickly. The robots raced towards the main hall, splitting off as they met a horde of more already blocking off the doorway and several feet of the hall. Mk could barely hear any of their frantic squealing over the roar of buzzing wings.</p><p>Bees. They filled the top of the hall like a storm cloud, racing back and forth from the room.</p><p>Wen.</p><p>But why?</p><p>Mk shoved past the clones with too much of his strength, too frantic at the chaos all around him to remember to keep it in check. The robots slammed into the walls, but he ignored them, shoving just far enough to get the smallest glimpse at what was going on.</p><p>A limp hand, dangling off of a cot, scarlet dripping down onto the floor like rain from the tips of too pale fingers. </p><p>And then Wen's bees had started to swarm the motionless form, and he could see nothing.</p><p>Mk dropped where he stood, collapsing to his knees in the middle of the hallway. He stared unblinkingly as Red was lifted onto the dining table, the closest thing with enough space for Wen to work, nearly coated with bees. All Mk could hear was the buzzing of the thousands, maybe even millions, of bees.</p><p>So many, many bees.</p><p>DBK stepped over Mk entirely, a low animalistic moan ripping from the great beast's mouth as he stormed through and sank to his knees beside his only son.</p><p>Mk felt like he was going to throw up.</p><p>And then Macaque was scooping him up, grip so tight against Mk that it hurt. Macaque forced Mk's face away from the scene and against his chest until Mk couldn't see any of it at all.</p><p>A scream. Mk barely recognized Princess Iron-Fan's voice, twisted by emotion at the sight of her only child.</p><p>Mk shrank in on himself at the painful sound, his tail wrapping tightly around father's waist as he grabbed handfuls of shirt and fur so tightly that the larger monkie hissed in pain. A hand rubbed against his trembling back, but it helped little.</p><p>Footsteps stomped towards them. Mk felt Macaque tense, the older monkie's fur bristling up.</p><p>"Give me it," Demon Bull King snarled. The demon's voice almost cracked, but Mk found the sound terrifying all the same.</p><p>"Bull-"</p><p>"Give me the weapon or I will not bring Wukong back alive at all," DBK hissed, voice shaking too much to yell.</p><p>Macaque let out a shaky breath. Mk felt the monkie's grip loosen.</p><p>DBK grabbed Mk around the middle and pulled him off of the other monkie, ignoring Mk's panicked squeaks. Macaque let him. </p><p>"Ready the bull clones! We will shake the city to the ground!" DBK roared. "Your weapon proves itself today, Macaque. Proves itself today!"</p><p>The demon turned, Mk still held tightly in one giant hand. Mk squirmed, fur puffed up, looking to Macaque for help. </p><p>But the monkie only followed in silence.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Im not sorry</p><p>Tw: this is probably gonna hurt more than ch11 ngl</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk was dropped soon enough.</p><p>DBK made a sharp command to follow, and the small monkie struggled to keep up with the furious giant of a demon.</p><p>Mk felt cold, Red's red blood painted across the back of his eyelids. But that comforting numbness was already fogging over his mind and emotions, a more than welcome respite from the pain and turmoil.</p><p>A ringing sounded in his ear. Mk wasn't sure when DBK had gotten the remote, but the irritating ringing dragged Mk back into his own head just enough to do more than stand by uselessly.</p><p>Macaque was missing. Mk couldn't even remember him leaving.</p><p>DBK marched down one of the hallways. It was darker down here, the modern lights replaced by torches that lit as they passed. Cobwebs burned, filling the already musty air with the scent of the burning, dusty webs. The walls and floor was looser, old cobblestone cracking here and there beneath their feet.</p><p>DBK stopped at a door at the far end, throwing his weight into the old thing when the rusted knob wouldn't turn, and it splintered under the force. The air bloomed with dust and nearly petrified wood, sending Mk into a sneezing fit so terrible that DBK grew tired within seconds of waiting for it to cease and dragged the monkie into the room.</p><p>The old bull cursed at the darkness and smacked the side of a metal torch. Another curse, another smack, and the enchanted thing lit with a flame, sparking a few times with a few pitiful puffs of dust from being hit. It barely lit up the small room, but the other torches refused to respond to DBK's fist.</p><p>Mk found his monkie eyes adjusting to the dark faster than they would have if he'd been in human form. As DBK dug through crates that fell into dust when he touched them, Mk turned, his attention caught by his surroundings.</p><p>Dark, dusty, full of cobwebs. But what few paintings he could see against the walls shone with protective enchantments, untouched by time. They must have been older than even Red, as one had DBK and PIF, a noticeable bump in the queen's middle.</p><p>And Monkey King.</p><p>He was in every painting, every portrait. Mk glanced at the bull demon behind him, but he seemed as uncaring of Mk's presence as ever.</p><p>Mk reached out and touched one. When it didn't turn to dust, he carefully pulled it away, looking to the next.</p><p>They all looked so young. DBK and PIF especially. In one, the bull was barely taller than Monkey King, the crown on the bull demon's head too big for his head, and Mk almost smiled at how fluffy the demon was in all of these.</p><p>None were like the paintings Mk usually saw of times before cameras, with serious expressions and static poses. If Mk didn't know the three of today, he would have thought nothing of them, assuming that those in the paintings were friends goofing off together.</p><p>He stopped and pulled one from the pile at the sight of a familiar shade of red. This one was a little more like what he would have expected, with a serious faced PIF sat on a chair in a fancy dress and jewelry, a comically tiny infant Red Son in her arms.</p><p>Over PIF's shoulder on either side, Monkey King and DBK both held over the top goofy attempts at serious expressions, both seeming to be teetering on the edge of breaking into laughter. He'd seen similar expressions in pictures of him and Mei.</p><p>His cruel mind flashed back to his nightmare, being dropped back into the ocean of blood. He shook it away, but his head wasn't done with him. He remembered the hatred that filled DBK at every mention of the Monkey King, and imagined it plastered onto Mei at every mention of him.</p><p>He dropped down where he stood, landing on the ground with a thud as he pulled the painting close. Mk didn't notice the terrified tears silently falling from him until they started to drop onto the canvas.</p><p>Mk barely noticed DBK coming up behind him until the bull yanked the picture from his hands.</p><p>Mk looked up, almost surprised at no further action against him for what must have been something done wrong, half expecting DBK to activate the fillet. But the bull only stared at the painting. For a moment, he didn't look like a monster. He just looked broken.</p><p>And then the grief twisted back into hate.</p><p>DBK turned and hurled the portrait at the nearest wall. It hit and bounced, landing on the floor, enchantments keeping it untouched from any possibility of damage. The demon's shoulders and chest heaved, and he turned, shouldering aside a stack of books and trinkets as he wiped at his face.</p><p>Mk picked up a small figure that had tumbled out of a box that had fallen. He'd seen carvings like it before, and easily recognized Monkey King's handiwork, as the monkie always had a distinctive habit of burning the wood to make the eyes of his carvings. He'd made Mk some before, and they were proudly displayed on a shelf back ho-</p><p>Mk cut his thoughts off there.</p><p>This one was a small carving of baby Red, face scrunched, long tail hooked like a monkey's to allow the figure to hang upside down. Mk picked up another of DBK, but quickly tossed them down before the actual DBK could spot him rooting through the box of carved figures.</p><p>Now that he was looking for it, he could see more of Monkey King's influence on the things around him. A few flower crowns with protection enchantments had flowers he recognized seeing around Flower Fruit Mountain. More carvings, more paintings. Mk didn't get a chance to look at any of the other things before DBK found what he must have been looking for.</p><p>He scooped Mk up without a word with one arm, carrying a large metal chest bigger than Mk in his other. DBK stepped through the empty doorway and dropped Mk down.</p><p>The small monkie landed on his feet and followed behind the warlord. Mk's tail flicked back and forth with violent, anxious jerks.</p><p>"I… I know it- in the stories, um… I know in the stories it says y-you and Monkey King-"</p><p>DBK turned quickly and Mk leaped back with a shriek, flattening against the wall as the bull demon's horns sparked as they hit against the stone on either side of Mk. The demon huffed, blasting hot air straight into the monkie's face, making Mk cringe and struggle to pin himself flatter against the wall than he already was as he felt DBK's glare burn into him from only inches away. He was all too aware of how easily the horns had jutted into stone, and the idea of what it could have done if DBK had aimed for his head instead made him shake.</p><p>"Sorry, sir-" Mk stuttered- "I mean- mean- I mean king, I'm sorry, my king, so sorry, please, I'm sorry-"</p><p>DBK tugged backwards, freeing his horns.</p><p>"Do not mention that traitorous bastard's name again."</p><p>"Yessir, course sir- uh, your majesty, I mean my king, I mean-"</p><p>"Silence."</p><p>Mk shut his mouth with an audible click as his sharp teeth clacked shut against each other.</p><p>Mk had to jog to keep up with DBK's pace. His little monkie legs were much smaller than the king's, after all.</p><p>Macaque was waiting for them outside what seemed to be an armory, leaning against the outside wall. His twitching tail gave away his feelings on the matter despite his bored expression and crossed arms. He straightened as the two neared, and he looked Mk over before seeming satisfied with Mk's state of being.</p><p>Mk was left with the chest outside of the armory, curled up and hugging his knees as DBK and Macaque fell into loud arguing within the armory over armor before either of them had even taken two steps into the room.</p><p>Macaque kept suggesting the need for a plan, for which the enraged bull had no patience for. One broken shield sent halfway through the stone wall and nearly taking Mk's head off later, Macaque gave up on arguing. It quieted down to only DBK's frustrated huffs as his anger made his movements sloppy.</p><p>Mk peered in after a moment of quiet. Macaque was silently helping DBK into his armor, pulling tight the buckles with practiced ease.</p><p>"You could have asked me," Macaque murmured, barely loud enough for Mk's monkie ears to pick up on.</p><p>"I need no help from you."</p><p>"Nobody gets into armor by themselves. Not even you."</p><p>"Quiet."</p><p>"Sun Wukong will not hesitate to kill you this time."</p><p>"Neither will I."</p><p>"We have a deal."</p><p>"…Yes."</p><p>"Mk will need armor, I haven't had the chance to get him any."</p><p>"He'll be fine in clothes."</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"I do not want to simply have Wukong's successor. I want to rub it in his face," DBK snarled. "If you are right, he won't need armor."</p><p>"There are things besides Wukong that pose a threat, especially if you're trying to take the city!"</p><p>"There is no threat like Wukong, Macaque! The world itself will fall at my feet, and I accept no other outcome. Only then will my family finally be safe. Only then."</p><p>"Well, he's my family! So what? You think you can go out there and halfass this, put my son in danger for your stupid vendetta-"</p><p>A heavy thud against a table within. Mk kept his gaze on his feet and didn't peek through the doorway, knowing better than to give in to curiosity.</p><p>"My son is hurt. I don't even know if he'll make it, let alone be alright. He hurt my boy, nearly killed my boy… I will not fail Red Son a fourth time," DBK croaked out. "When you know the pain of knowing you have failed to protect your child, to uphold your most important duty as a father time and time again, fail to keep him safe again, and again, and again, only then will you ever come close to understanding what this means to me."</p><p>Mk heard Macaque coughing from within the armory.</p><p>"Wukong cannot die anyways," DBK said. "This is the only way to ensure the safety of my wife and my son."</p><p>"Is it?"</p><p>DBK did not answer Macaque.</p><p>Mk hopped off of the chest as DBK stomped through the doorway. He scrambled out of the way and towards Macaque, but DBK snatched him up and plopped him back down beside the bull demon.</p><p>Mk looked to Macaque, but the monkie only shook his head and raised a finger to his lips. Mk nodded and looked to DBK as the demon bull opened the chest and pulled out an axe that looked almost as big as the bull, himself.</p><p>"You're going out there half assed, Bull," Macaque said.</p><p>"I don't care," DBK said, his tone as heavy as his expression.</p><p>"You're going to end up just like your son if you do this-"</p><p>"Set the bull clones upon the city. I don't care if there's anything left to take, as long as I get my hands on that damned monkie," DBK snarled. "Make some noise. Destroy anyone who gets in our way. Wukong will show."</p><p>He scooped Mk up and dropped him on his shoulder, storming down the hall at a speed Mk knew he wouldn't have matched and that Macaque had to jog to keep up with.</p><p>"You can't be certain he will."</p><p>"My son reported that he has barely left the city. He will show. And if not, I'm sure the weapon has more than one use. Now go, or my patience with your so called weapon will be shorter than it already is."</p><p>Macaque split off with only a snarl, scowling as he split off to do as told.</p><p>"Little thief, shift to a smaller form-" DBK spoke, and it took a moment for it to register in Mk's head that the bull demon was outright speaking directly to him- "I don't trust you with the information on how to reach the city."</p><p>Mk shifted without complaint, surprised and proud at himself for managing to shift forms without falling back to his human one first. The little monkie shrank down into a small turtle and hid away in his shell.</p><p>It took him a minute to recognize the belt bag DBK retrieved for what it was. The demon bull nearly had put Mk into the bag when he poked his little turtle legs and waved them about.</p><p>"You are not putting me in a fanny pack!" Mk squeaked. "Come on!"</p><p>DBK put him in the fanny pack, uncaring of Mk's complaints at the state of his way of travel.</p><p>Mk went silent as soon as the bag was zipped up. He squirmed around for a little bit, only comforted at the sensation of movement despite the darkness. Between the darkness and being carried, the turtle dozed off quickly.</p><p>Mk jolted awake at being grabbed and pulled out of the bag, freezing up as the smell of smoke and fire hit him in the face.</p><p>DBK dropped him, and Mk landed on paws, dropping into tiger form. Even in this form, DBK dwarfed him.</p><p>Mk pinned his ears back against the sudden sounds of screams and fire. The city was burning, Bull clones tearing through everything in their path without mercy, and already several buildings had faced the brunt of their anger.</p><p>DBK opened his mouth and unleashed a beam of purple that ripped through several skyscrapers, people screaming as the buildings split and collapsed, raining down onto the street and crushing people beneath the rubble.</p><p>DBK snarled and marched down the street, people running like rats from a sinking ship. Mk chased after, having to run to keep up as the furious bull fell into a charge. DBK fell down onto all fours, letting out a bellow of fury as he rammed horns first into a bus, sending it flying with only a flick of his head.</p><p>Mk bared his teeth, heart pounding as he chased after the raging demon, too lost in the chaos to consider running. Not that running ever went well.</p><p>The rumble and shrieking of concrete and metal grated against his ears. Mk leaped onto the top of a smoking car, eyes widening as he took in even more of the city.</p><p>His city.</p><p>Something twisted deep in his chest.</p><p>A growl rumbled from deep within his chest. Red's limp hand flashed against the back of his eyelids. The guilt nearly took him, but the burning of flesh and ash was sharper. </p><p>Mk turned his glare to DBK. Barely heard the grind of his claws against the roof of the car beneath him. </p><p>A snarl of warning as DBK noticed Mk's expression. The demon pulled the remote from a leather satchel on his hip, staring Mk down with his finger over the fillet button. </p><p>A rock hit against DBK's armor, and both the demon and Mk paused, one with confusion and the other with dread. </p><p>A human. </p><p>Mk knew he should react, but his body had turned to stone. He could barely remember the last time he had seen one.</p><p>But that was a lie.</p><p>He could remember perfectly the last time he'd seen a human. Could remember the taste of blood on his tongue and the crack of bone between his teeth.</p><p>DBK snarled, grip tightening on the remote, and the whistle sounded in Mk's ear. </p><p>The kid was maybe ten, barely older than that at most. Mk wasn't sure. Didn't have time to wonder before he was leaping from the roof with a roar.</p><p>The human let out a shriek, ducking back into the crumbling building he'd thrown the rock from. The tiger hit against nothing alive and snarled, the whistle sounding again in its ear, sparking against the instincts to hunt, and he barreled down the small hall after the fleeing human.</p><p>The kid glanced back, eyes wide and terrified. He was slow, so slow, almost hilariously slow. Diving under a table as if it could save him from the tiger's claws.</p><p>Pathetic. Such weak little creatures they were.</p><p>The tiger dragged the prey back out from under the table by the leg, ignoring its pitiful shrieks of terror. Prey always screamed, warning the forest of danger, but the tiger had no need for a meal. </p><p>It ran. The tiger chased.</p><p>And now the tiger would finish what it had started.</p><p>It kicked at the tiger, even as it was dragged out from under its hideaway. Bloodied hands scrabbled at the crumbling surroundings of where it would die. And it would die, die to the tiger's fangs like so many creatures had before it.</p><p>The prey's hand caught hold of a piece of rubble from a hole that had been knocked in the side. The tiger barely noticed the sting of being struck in the muzzle with the mass of concrete, even as the kid struck again and again in desperation.</p><p>The kid nailed the tiger on the nose, slamming the concrete down hard enough to send the tiger into a fit of sneezing. The prey escaped, scrambling free from his grip.</p><p>It limped away, scrambling out the hole in the side of the building, pant leg torn and tattered and bloodied.</p><p>Mk wheezed, shaking the tiger's instincts away, and stumbled after. He looked out through the gap, gasping more at the idea of what he had almost let himself do than at any actual exertion.</p><p>The ringing started in his ear. Mk swallowed down the lump in his throat, wincing at the sharp iron of blood against his tongue as he swiped it across his muzzle. He slunk out after the boy but split off from the trail, his nose still smarting from the hit as he returned to DBK. </p><p>The bull paused and turned his head at Mk's  approach, his fury skipping at the sight of Mk's bloodied muzzle, and Mk turned to look as DBK suddenly stopped and looked past the tiger completely.</p><p>There was a figure, walking towards them through the smog. The creature's eyes shone a golden light so bright that it cut through the flames and smoke, and Mk found himself stumbling backwards.</p><p>It took a terrifyingly long moment to even recognize who it was.</p><p>Monkey King.</p><p>No, no, it couldn't be Monkey King: Monkey King's armor didn't hang off of him like that, Monkey King's fur wasn't matted and rust colored like that, and Mk knew that the wild, crazed look in those sunken eyes simply wasn't an expression that Monkey King could ever wear. Never.</p><p>But it was him. Deep down, Mk's power resonated for the first time in much too long, and he knew without a doubt that there was no one else the ragged creature before them could possibly be.</p><p>Monkey King.</p><p>"Oh, Gods," Mk breathed out.</p><p>His body refused to move, even as his true mentor bared his fangs and let out an inhuman scream that ripped every ounce of courage Mk could possibly have out of every fiber of his body.</p><p>DBK hesitated, eyes widening as he lowered his axe, just slightly. Monkey King gave no time or mercy for such a mistake to be corrected, leaping forward and burying his canines into the back of DBK's neck.</p><p>DBK startled out of whatever trance he had fallen under, letting out a feral bellow of his own. The bull slammed backwards against the nearest crumbling structure, again and again until the monkie was finally dislodged.</p><p>Blood was barely distinguishable from DBK's dark fur, already coated with ash and soot, but Mk could smell the sharp iron tang of it in the air. If it had done significant damage, DBK showed no sign at all.</p><p>The two circled each other, finally brandishing their respective weapons. Neither made a move, watching each other, waiting.</p><p>DBK's eyes flickered towards Mk for a moment, his eyes narrowing at the inaction. It was Mk's only warning, and he only caught it when the whistle sounded in his ear just as Monkey King's back was facing his way.</p><p>Mk attacked without a sound, claws struggling for a grip on Monkey King's armor as he latched on and dug his fangs deep into his mentor's throat, jaws easily closing around the too thin neck of his mentor.</p><p>The monkie's state was worse up close, the comforting smell of peaches Mk had yearned so long for now turned rotten. Blood gushed into Mk's mouth, but Monkey King barely seemed to notice the new hole in his body even as bones crunched and snapped between Mk's teeth.</p><p>A hand at his scruff, ragged claws digging in, and then he was being flung. He slammed into DBK with enough force to send them both flying, the bull demon barely cushioning the landing. DBK's head hit against whatever broke their unwilling flight with a sickening crack, and the demon went limp, gaze dazed and clouded.</p><p>Mk reverted to monkie form, losing his hold on his tiger form, and stumbled to his feet.</p><p>The end of Monkey King's staff was the last thing he saw before his vision exploded into black, white dots like stars ringing and bursting like fireworks through his head so sharply he could see it against the back of his eyelids.</p><p>Mk was barely aware of flying through the air and slamming backfirst into a wall, with no DBK to cushion it this time. If it weren't for the extra durability he had had since getting Monkey King's powers, it would have been a lot worse, and he didn't dare consider how much worse.</p><p>He tried to talk, but his brain stumbled over remembering how to. His head felt weird, fuzzy and aching, but he could feel Monkey King glaring at him, the monkie's expression twisted with hatred.</p><p>Monkey King snarled and uttered a single word, voice dripping with venomous hate.</p><p>"Macaque."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Get ready for pain</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk had been around enough angry monkies to know when to run. </p><p>He stumbled to his feet and fell over as his head spun. Mk cursed inwardly, already trying again only to achieve the same result.</p><p>Monkey King was taking his time, lazily spinning his staff as he stalked towards Mk, his teeth bared, a low growl rumbling out of him, audible above the crackle of fire and crunch of buildings giving out around them. </p><p>Mk crawled away, pushing his way into the nearest escape from the angry Monkey King, cutting himself on the jagged edges of broken pipes and metal as he shimmied deeper into the smoke. Suffocating heat bit at his fur, and he almost choked on the smoke.</p><p>Staying low, he crawled out on the other side of the wall, doing his best to muffle his coughs and gasps. Each one sent a strike of throbbing pain through the already stabbing pain in his head, his throat stinging more and more sharply with every breath.</p><p>He paused, only stirred into motion as the wall imploded behind him. Mk scrambled away on his hands and knees, hiding away behind some crates and boxes. He tried to look around his surroundings for another escape route, but between the smoke and the fog biting at his sluggish thoughts, he could barely figure out the next few feet ahead of him.</p><p>"Macaque!" Monkey King roared, rubble of what had once been a wall crunching under his boots. "You cannot hide from me!"</p><p>A blast of air, the sound of Monkey King's staff slicing through the air, clearing the smoke away for a moment before the fire sent more billowing black clouds to poison their lungs.</p><p>But Mk had spotted a doorway in the time they'd gotten, the door half hanging off of its hinges.</p><p>He crawled towards it, not making a sound even as he felt sharp pain bite into his hands and knees. The heat was getting worse, and his heart skipped a beat as flickering fire and sweltering heat ate at the edges of the door.</p><p>But it was either risk the fire or risk an angry Monkey King before he could figure out how to make words fall coherently from his mouth, and Mk was pretty sure the fire was the safer option.</p><p>He pulled himself past the door and could make it no farther. Mk slumped over, the floor hot against his cheek as he rested his head against it, already feeling his fur starting to smolder.</p><p>The billowing blackness scorched down his throat. He coughed despite himself, hacking sharp and painful gasps. Tears ran freely down his face, and the more he breathed, the more he could only cough. With his nose starting to clog, he could only gasp in through his mouth, which only served to drag in more and more lungfuls of smoke.</p><p>Mk didn't make it far past the door. The roar of the flames was both his salvation and his doom, and he felt his fear boil almost as hot as the flames as he realised he didn't want to die. There was so much he wanted to do. So much he still wanted to be. </p><p>Mk didn't want to die as a monster.</p><p>Words Monkey King had told him once, what felt like lifetimes ago, what felt like they had been said to somebody else forever and a half ago, rang through his head.</p><p>Even a smidge can make all the difference.</p><p>Come on, he told himself. Come on!</p><p>Mk dragged himself up onto shaky arms. His eyes burned even more than they watered, stinging and painful, but he forced his power to spark and surge, everything turning gold as his vision burned through the pain. It cut against the smog and fire, and he could see it, a small and barely there strand of fresh air, pillowed against the smog, curling against the poisonous smoke as if they were old friends.</p><p>Mk dragged himself towards it, thoughts cutting against his fogged mind with a laser focus. Fire bit at the end of his tail, but he reached out and finally felt the kiss of fresh air against his fingertips. Mk coughed his way through a smile and dragged himself up to his feet, leaning against the wall to support himself.</p><p>The smoke was even worse above than it had been on his hands and knees. He ignored it, dragging himself up and through the shattered window and dropping onto the glass shards outside beneath the sill.</p><p>Mk barely noticed the sting of more glass cutting into him, too focused on dragging in gasp after gasp of fresh air down his burning throat even as he hacked his way through most of it. </p><p>Hands grabbed him and dragged him up. Mk almost fought, but the hands were cold and solid, and the coolness of what he was soon slumped onto was like heaven against his fur.</p><p>Mk blinked tears from his stinging eyes, confused as a bull clone carried him away from the burning building. It was heading away from the fight, marching quickly in a direction Mk knew led towards the outskirts of the city. Mk didn't know much about the robots, but he doubted they were supposed to run from fights.</p><p>Bull clones they passed stopped their rampages of destruction, falling in like ants, most heading back the way Mk had been taken from. The monkie tried to look, but he was too exhausted to even twitch his tail.</p><p>The bellows of bull clones suddenly roared behind them, and the bull clone holding Mk over its shoulder quickened its pace. </p><p>Mk's ears twitched, hearing the crunching and tearing of metal growing nearer. The bull clone seemed to notice, too, and stopped its race to escape the city. Instead, it ducked into an abandoned playground untouched by the chaos that had befallen the city, the fires long behind them towards the center where DBK had focused his rage and forces.</p><p>The bull clone tucked him away behind the short stone wall separating the border of the park from the sidewalk. It gave him a small shove towards the nearby bushes before it hopped over the stone wall.</p><p>Mk pulled himself towards the nearest edge of the wall, near a footpath, peering out to see what was happening.</p><p>The bull clone stood, wielding its weapon before it as Monkey King tore through the clones swarming him as he approached.The monkie swatted them aside with as much effort as one would spend waving away a fly. They broke like paper, smacked aside by tail and staff, falling like silver dominos.</p><p>The bull clone who had carried Mk away from the fire let out a bellow and charged, even in the face of what may as well have been a slaughter of its brethren. It neither hesitated nor wavered, fearlessly charging in, even though Mk knew that it had to understand that it stood no chance against the Monkey King, himself, even on a bad day.</p><p>Monkey King smacked it aside with less effort than Mk had seen people use to brush away crumbs, and the bull clone's body crumpled in on itself at the hit.</p><p>Monkey King had destroyed every clone that had swarmed to the aid of the clone that had carried Mk away, and barely a strand of his matted fur seemed out of place.</p><p>Monkey King scented the air, ears twitching as his nostrils flared.</p><p>"Macaque!" Monkey King bellowed in challenge.</p><p>Mk ducked back behind the wall and looked frantically around for a better hiding spot. He scurried away from the wall and tucked himself away beneath a set of slides, woodchips cutting against his burns and the glass still lodged in his skin, though he barely noticed with the adrenaline coursing through him that was screaming at him to run.</p><p>Monkey King hopped onto the stone wall, crouched as he sniffed the air.</p><p>"I know your scent, Macaque," Monkey King said. "I know you're close." </p><p>Mk covered his mouth, the pounding of his heart and rasping of his breath much too loud even to himself. As Monkey King hopped onto the playset, his tail lashing back and forth as he looked around, Mk eased himself towards a cement turtle. He'd gotten beneath it just in time, as Monkey King turned his gaze in that direction only seconds after he'd tucked himself away.</p><p>Monkey King dropped to the ground and tore through the slides, smacking them aside, the sound of plastic tearing filling the air. Mk flinched at the sound.</p><p>Monkey King let out a snarl and tucked his staff away in his ear. He crouched, huffing air in and out, his sunken eyes darting around as he scented the air. </p><p>"You think you can hide! Hide from what you've done?"</p><p>Monkey King lifted his head and scented the air again.</p><p>Monkey King turned his attention towards the turtle and Mk felt his heart skip a beat. Monkey King was there quicker than a heartbeat, ripping the turtle out of the ground and throwing it aside.</p><p>He didn't notice Mk quickly scurrying away from where he had been clinging to the underside, the small monkie escaping the shattered concrete and scurrying under the bush he'd been beside earlier.</p><p>Mk flattened himself against the ground as he listened to Monkey King shriek his fury, tearing the playset apart. Chains of swings snapped, plastic tore, an entire seesaw went flying and smashed through the rock wall and sent shrapnel of rock digging into the dirt only a little bit away from Mk's bush.</p><p>Everything went quiet.</p><p>Mk couldn't see much through the leaves and branches. After what felt like a century, he crawled closer to the edge and peeked out.</p><p>The playground was in ruins, barely recognizable as what it had once been. But Monkey King was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>Mk crawled out slowly, listening for the slightest out of place sound. He sniffed at the air, but wasn't sure how to tell if a scent was faint enough that the cause was gone. All he could smell was spoiled, rotten peaches.</p><p>He crawled free of the bushes and pulled himself up to rest on his knees, his tail lashing anxiously behind him as he glanced around.</p><p>A hand dug into his scruff and yanked him up. Mk let out a high pitched shriek and struggled, twisting as best as he could in Monkey King's painful grip, but he couldn't get a handhold anywhere.</p><p>"No more running," Monkey King hissed in his ear.</p><p>Monkey King tossed him to the ground hard enough for Mk's already fogged head to click into black for a second, maybe two. Monkey King approached, spinning the staff in a lazy circle, a manic sharp toothed grin splitting his face, and Mk clawed at the woodchips in a futile attempt to drag himself away.</p><p>"I'm going to enjoy this," Monkey King laughed.</p><p>Monkey King raised the staff and brought it down hard.</p><p>Mk raised a hand to defend himself and caught the staff before it could hit him. Monkey King stumbled back as if Mk was a striking viper, the monkie letting go of the staff entirely. A flash of golden light in his golden eyes, and they were wide by the time the glow was gone.</p><p>"Oh, gods," Monkey King croaked.</p><p>And then in a heartbeat he was gone, a purple blur ramming horns first into him. </p><p>Monkey King went flying into the crumpled remains of the swings. DBK twisted one of the chains around his wrist and yanked, tightening a loop around the Monkey King's neck. DBK yanked on the chain, dragging Monkey King across the woodchips out of the mess of metal and within reach. It didn't help the state of his fur.</p><p>The bull demon let out a frenzied snort of a bellow and swung the chain. Monkey King went flying like the biggest yoyo that Mk had ever seen, not making a sound of pain as his body dug a crater through the woodchips and into the dirt.</p><p>DBK's simmering fury seemed to hit a boiling point once he realised Monkey King's lack of reaction, the monkie limp in the tangle of chains. </p><p>"Nothing?" DBK snarled. "No words? No action in your defense!"</p><p>The giant demon bull swung the chain, dragging Monkey King through the woodchips and slamming the smaller demon against what might have once been the concrete turtle.</p><p>The giant bull stood there, chest heaving, but Monkey King only lay frozen in the woodchips and pieces of concrete. The only sign of life was his tail, curling as tightly around himself as his arms had. Monkey King looked smaller than Mk had ever seen him.</p><p>"I have dreamed of this moment for countless centuries," DBK said. "The great Sun Wukong. Broken before me. Finally at <em>my</em> mercy, for once."</p><p>The Demon Bull King frowned and stood up straighter, his expression growing into a look that Mk could not pin down as DBK stared down at the great sage, equal to heaven.</p><p>"And yet…" DBK trailed off, sounding almost confused- "and yet it brings me none of the satisfaction I have longed for for so long. My vengeance has finally been satisfied, a son for a son, and yet… I do not feel the peace I had expected."</p><p>The bull let out a bellow of conflicted fury, so sudden that Mk let out a shriek and flattened himself against the woodchips.</p><p>"I'm sorry."</p><p>So quiet, Mk wasn't sure if he had actually heard the words or not. The only sign he wasn't hearing things was the confusion crossing DBK's face.</p><p>"What?" DBK spoke.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Monkey King croaked.</p><p>The monkie snapped the chains and pulled himself onto his forearms, lifting his upper half and looking up at DBK.</p><p>"I didn't understand then," Monkey King said. "I didn't have patience. I'd spent five hundred years under a mountain watching the world slowly pass me by, so slowly and so long that plants grew over me. Even the idea of waiting for anything, even for a second, was unthinkable to me. I was young, and I was dumb."</p><p>Monkey King pulled himself up to drop to a seat on the ground, dragging his hands through the fur on his head.</p><p>"I should have waited," Monkey King croaked. "For you. Brother Bull, I am so sorry that I didn't wait for you."</p><p>Mk looked back and forth between the two seemingly frozen demons, biting back the urge to awkwardly clear his throat.</p><p>"And I know it doesn't fix it, fix anything, especially after all these centuries, but for what it's worth… I'm sorry. I didn't understand your pain. Didn't understand how it felt to lose a son… until I lost my own."</p><p>DBK stood motionless for a long while, but Monkey King said nothing more. Finally, after minutes, hours, maybe even days, a ruby glow glowed from under DBK's gauntlets, tearing the awkward silence to an end.</p><p>"Red," DBK whispered, eyes darting to the glow. "You live..."</p><p>The bull dropped the chain. In his other hand, something crunched in his fist.</p><p>"I do not forgive you, Wukong, especially not after the state my son is in," DBK said. "And we are <em>not</em> brothers."</p><p>DBK dropped the crumpled remote and turned his back to them both. He disappeared in a burst of purple flame as he walked, not once looking back at them.</p><p>Monkey King stared off the way DBK had gone, as did Mk, who didn't know what to make of what the absolute hell was happening. A switch seemed to flip in the Monkey King, then, and the golden monkie scrambled up onto his feet and darted to Mk. </p><p>Mk flinched and cowered, holding the staff out before him, only opening his eyes as he was hugged instead of hurt. </p><p>Monkey King dropped to his knees, clinging to Mk as if he would disappear if he loosened his hold even the slightest bit, and the staff shrank in Mk's grip, tucking itself away in his ear.</p><p>"Kid," Monkey King rasped. "Oh, gods, kid. Mk. My Mk."</p><p>Monkey King tucked Mk's head under his chin, still holding onto him like a lifeline even as he ran shaky hands through Mk's fur, fingers catching on the fillet a few times as he did so. Mk could feel a tremble running through Monkey King's entire body.</p><p>"Gods, kid, what did that bastard do to you?"</p><p>"I didn't spoil him, for one."</p><p>Monkey King bristled. His hold on Mk tightened to an almost painful degree, even as he pulled Mk even closer.</p><p>Even without being able to see him, tucked as tightly away as he was, Mk could hear and recognize the familiar  voice and approaching footsteps. </p><p>"No need for such hostility, my love," Macaque cooed. "We're all together again! We can-"</p><p>Monkey King leaped to his feet and bolted, still clinging onto Mk. Mk squeaked and clung on tightly, shuddering at the sound of Macaque's angry cursing as he gave chase. </p><p>"Mk!" Macaque shrieked. "Come!"</p><p>Mk's grip tightened, chest tightening as he ignored it despite everything in him screaming to obey.</p><p>Macaque let out a furious scream, and the words for the fillet rang out against the night.</p><p>Mk shrieked as it activated, the fillet adding to his already pounding headache. He writhed, shoving against Monkey King, thrashing until he finally fell free. </p><p>Monkey King snapped out the ending phrase. The fillet didn't seem to care.</p><p>Monkey King scooped him up, holding him close, fingers brushing anxiously against the fillet as Mk fell from screams into exhausted sobs of agony.</p><p>"Stop it!" Monkey King begged, his voice cracking on the words. "Stop!"</p><p>"Disobedient children get fitting punishments."</p><p>"Don't you dare take this out on him! Stop this, Macaque! Stop it now!"</p><p>Macaque didn't respond. Mk shuddered and sobbed, barely noticing the hand brushing frantically through the fur on his head.</p><p>"I know," Monkey King cooed. "I know, kid, I know. It's alright, it's going to be alright. I'm here. I'm here."</p><p>"…Come with us, and I'll stop the fillet," Macaque said.</p><p>"Stop it now," Monkey King demanded.</p><p>Macaque spoke the words. Mk slumped over against Monkey King's armor, glass shards still in his skin biting at his nerves.</p><p>"Me, you, our kid," Macaque said. "That's what I want. I want us again."</p><p>"Again?" Monkey King asked. "There has never been an us."</p><p>"Don't lie to me!"</p><p>"I'm not! I.."</p><p>Monkey King's ears twitched, and his trembling stopped. He breathed in, breathed out. Despite his ragged, worn out state, Mk recognized the fire that suddenly lit in the great sage's eyes.</p><p>"Of course," Monkey King said, his voice sturdier, more certain. The golden confidence of a king.</p><p>Monkey King's grip loosened on Mk, lightly pulling the smaller monkie's hands free from his armor. Monkey King set him down on the ground and ruffled the fur on top of his head.</p><p>"You're right," Monkey King said. "I cannot deny this… thing between us."</p><p>Mk nearly choked on his tongue right then and there. He tried to yell out, but his voice was too strained from the smoke and yelling to make any words fall from his mouth.</p><p>Macaque paused, surprise loosening the scowl on his face as Monkey King approached him.</p><p>"Oh, darling," Monkey King purred. "You're right, I have missed you so, so much."</p><p>Macaque softened, a small smile growing on his face.</p><p>"I knew you'd come around, Peaches."</p><p>Monkey King leaned against the other monkie, smiling softly as he rested his hands on Macaque's hips. Monkey King leaned forward and kissed Macaque. The black furred monkie's eyes widened before slipping closed as he pulled Monkey King closer.</p><p>Someone grabbed Mk from behind, a hand covering his mouth to muffle his yell.</p><p>"It's me, kid, it's me," Pigsy whispered.</p><p>Mk turned and lunged, latching on tight.</p><p>"Pigsy," he rasped. "Pigsy, Pigsy-"</p><p>"We've got you, kid. We've got you," Pigsy promised. "It's going to be okay, now, bud, we've got you."</p><p>Behind them, Monkey King eased one of Macaque's hidden blades from his belt and drove it deep into the other monkie's back. </p><p>Mk didn't have time to warn Macaque, tears falling down his face as Monkey King wiped his mouth and spat on Macaque's limp form, shoving the other monkie's body away from himself.</p><p>Pigsy handed him over to someone else, albeit reluctantly. Mk felt the familiar texture of Tang's shirt before finally giving in to his exhaustion.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Remember, darlings... we're almost halfway through...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Haha surprise i didnt even warn yall i was updating :P</p><p>Cw: nurse asks some questions in regards to demon cultude</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Honey, please just answer the questions, okay?" The nurse asked. "It's standard protocol for when a demon kidnaps someone, and the sooner you do it the sooner you can go home. Don't you want to go home?"</p><p>Mk only glared at her.</p><p>"Would you rather someone you know be in here with you? Now that you're awake, you can request one of them be here for this. You've got a lot of people who have been wanting to see you since they heard you'd woken up."</p><p>"They weren't here."</p><p>"Honey, for cases like these, it's standard protocol to ensure only blood relatives be allowed in the room until we can be certain you'll be safe with them."</p><p>Mk looked down at his hands and shook his head. He knew it was probably stupid but… he didn't want any of them to have to worry more than they had already had to about him.</p><p>"I can do it by myself."</p><p>"Okay-" the nurse nodded, the click of her pen loud in the room- "are you ready, honey?"</p><p>Mk bit back a scowl. If she called him honey one more fucking time-</p><p>"Yeah," he said.</p><p>"Age?"</p><p>"18."</p><p>"19."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Honey, according to your records, your birthday passed two months ago, you're 19 now."</p><p>"…oh."</p><p>"You identify as male?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Was there any attempt to marry you?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Any attempt to marry you off to an heir?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Any attempt to marry you off to-"</p><p>"There wasn't anything to do with fucking marriage!" </p><p>The nurse looked up from her board. </p><p>"Honey, I have to ask-"</p><p>"Fine! Fuck! No. Not to a- a friend, or a pet, or whatever stupid fucking questions you have on that stupid fucking paper!"</p><p>Mk shifted uneasily under the nurse's patient stare. She probably pitied him, and it made something bitter churn inside him at the thought.</p><p>"There was nothing inappropriate or romantic," Mk said in a calmer, quiet tone. "So just mark no for all of those."</p><p>The nurse was quiet for a few moments, the sound of her pen moving across the paper the only sound.</p><p>"Demons aren't known for kidnapping, humans or demons, outside of the usual custom," the nurse said. "So it's just protocol, okay?"</p><p>"Whatever."</p><p>"Did he ever hit you?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Did he ever hurt you?"</p><p>"…No."</p><p>"Do you want to try answering that again?"</p><p>Mk scowled.</p><p>The nurse only took a deep breath and asked again. </p><p>"Did he ever hurt you?"</p><p>"…Only when he had to."</p><p>"Starve you?"</p><p>"That wasn't his fault."</p><p>"Did he ever try to eat you?"</p><p>"Of course not!"</p><p>"Just part of what has to be asked, honey."</p><p>"Call me honey one more time-"</p><p>"Do I need to get a doctor in here to restrain you?"</p><p>Mk grumbled but shook his head.</p><p>"Did he ever try to use you in or force you to partake in a ritual?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Did he ever try to use you as a virgin sacrifice?"</p><p>Mk sputtered.</p><p>"Wh- I- no! I'm not-"</p><p>"Honey, your doctor is a demon, they can tell."</p><p>Mk's face went beet red, and he picked uncomfortably at the thread of his hospital gown.</p><p>"No," he said.</p><p>"Did he ever eat humans in front of you?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Did he ever force feed you human meat?"</p><p>Mk stared at her for a long moment, eyes wide and nausea itching at the back of his throat.</p><p>"They… demons do that?"</p><p>"Some have been known to," the nurse said. </p><p>"I… no. No, he never did anything like that."</p><p>"Did he ever kill anyone in front of you?"</p><p>"…Some demons that attacked us once, b-but that's it."</p><p>"Other than demons, did he kill anything in front of you?"</p><p>"…Animals. To- for food."</p><p>"Did he ever make you kill anything?"</p><p>"…Animals."</p><p>"For food?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Did he ever make you kill anyone?"</p><p>Mk fiddled with the blanket, not able to bring himself to look at her.</p><p>"Xiaotian?"</p><p>"No. No, he didn't... make me kill anybody."</p><p>"Did anyone assist the demon in kidnapping you?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Did the demon kidnap anyone else at any point during your captivity?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Did the demon torture you at any point during your captivity?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Were you restrained at any point?"</p><p>"Restrained?"</p><p>"Tied or chained down."</p><p>"No."</p><p>The nurse finished writing down the answers and nodded to herself, closing the papers and slipping them into a folder.</p><p>"Alright, Xiaotian, the doctor already talked to you about the concussions?"</p><p>"Yeah. He said I'll probably be okay with my healing factor as long as I take it easy."</p><p>"Alright. Is there anything you want to ask about or do you want to get towards being discharged? I know you're probably looking forward to going home."</p><p>"I just want to go."</p><p>The nurse nodded and left the room. Mk felt that familiar panic the very second he was left alone. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, digging his nails into the bandages on his arms. He barely heard the door open.</p><p>"Mk."</p><p>Mk opened his eyes, the throbbing pain of knives in his chest finally easing. </p><p>Pigsy looked him over before patting his shoulder, hand pausing on Mk's fur as he set a folded pile of clothes on the side table.</p><p>"I'm not made of glass, you know," Mk said, giving a small smile for Pigsy's sake.</p><p>Pigsy hugged him, and Mk relaxed into the pig demon's hold, the last of the fear of being left alone easing out of his shoulders. Pigsy was quiet when he finally pulled away, neither of them knowing quite what to say after so long.</p><p>"You ready to go home, Mk?"</p><p>Mk nodded, and Pigsy handed him his clothes, waiting without a word while Mk got out of the bed. He wobbled a little when his feet hit the floor, but Pigsy helped him catch his balance and pointed the hospital room's bathroom out to Mk.</p><p>Mk clutched the clothes tight to his chest, staring at the door. He took a deep breath and walked in, leaving the door open behind him, not able to bring himself to touch the doorknob.</p><p>"Mk, bud, you left the door-"</p><p>"I know, just… can you just make sure nobody comes in?"</p><p>Mk heard the creak of the hospital chair as Pigsy sat down.</p><p>"Alright," Pigsy said. "Alright, Mk, I'll make sure."</p><p>Mk let out a small sigh of relief and turned the light on, undoing the string of the hospital gown and pulling it off. He let it drop into a heap on the floor and looked to the clothes. </p><p>They weren't the ones he'd been wearing, some of the ones Red had gotten for him and the jacket that Macaque had given him. He recognized them, the red pants and the target symbol shirt, from being his own. </p><p>Mk's tail lashed and he bit his lip, not wanting to make a fuss. He didn't want to ruin the clothes, but he didn't want to take on a human form, either. Mk took a deep breath and chastised himself, glancing towards the mirror. </p><p>He'd never taken the time to look at his monkie form in the mirror, not without clothes at least. The fur that covered his upper half looked soft, and covered the scars on his chest well, and he didn't want to let the form go.</p><p>That was the only reason, he told himself. Of course it was.</p><p>He pulled on the shirt and fussed over the pants for a moment before feeling stupid. The clothes had adjusted themselves the last time he'd changed from human to monkie, so who was to say they wouldn't again?</p><p>Mk took on his human form, making sure to keep his back to the mirror, and pulled on the pants. He let himself fall back into his monkie form and smiled softly as he waved his tail around, his power having thankfully shifted the pants to accommodate.</p><p>Pigsy didn't comment on it when Mk came out of the bathroom. There was an awkward moment at the door before Pigsy seemed to understand that Mk wasn't going to open it, and the pig demon opened it for him.</p><p>Mk stuck close to Pigsy, eyeing each human and demon they passed with suspicion. Humans. So many humans, and it made him feel uneasy. They turned a hall and Mk relaxed a little bit at the sight of Mr. Tang, talking with the nurses at the check out desk. Finally, a human he could trust.</p><p>"Sandy and Mei are in the waiting room, if you want to-"</p><p>Mk grabbed tightly onto Pigsy's sleeve.</p><p>"Or you can stay," Pigsy reassured him. "I'm not going to make you go anywhere you don't want to go."</p><p>Mk only tightened his grip. </p><p>Tang tucked the discharge papers under his arm and pushed his glasses up, tired expression easing into something fond as he turned to face Mk and Pigsy.</p><p>"Mk, you look…" Tang trailed off awkwardly.</p><p>"Better," Pigsy supplied. "Come on, let's get some food in him."</p><p>"Pigsy's been wanting to fatten you up since we got you back, thinks you're too scrawny now," Tang told Mk. "Just remember if you can't finish your bowl-"</p><p>"Tang, you freeloading-" Pigsy trailed off at the sight of the small smile on Mk's face as Tang ruffled the monkie's hair- "fine. But Mk, don't you be letting him take your noodles, the doctor says you're underweight and that's not staying that way on my watch!"</p><p>"Okay, Pigsy."</p><p>Mk darted behind Pigsy when they walked into the waiting room, startled by Mei leaping quickly to her feet at the sight of him. Pigsy shot her a look, and she looked a little sheepish in return, slowing down as she approached at a slower speed.</p><p>"Mk?" She reached out to him but didn't reach all the way, her hand dropping to her side when he didn't cross the distance.</p><p>"He's been through a lot, Mei" Pigsy said. "The kid just needs some time. It'll be okay, now, he just... needs some time."</p><p>Mei fiddled with her hands, staring at Mk, her mouth quivering.</p><p>"I... I really missed you, Mk," Mei said.</p><p>She was blinking rapidly, but a few tears still slipped freely down her cheeks. </p><p>Mk worried Pigsy's sleeve between his fingers.</p><p>"Missed you, too," Mk choked. </p><p>His feet crossed the distance before his mind registered that he was walking forward, grabbing Mei and pulling her close, crushing her in a hug. She squeezed him back, as if he'd disappear if she let go.</p><p>"Don't ever do that to me again, you jerk-" Mei sniffed, wiping her nose on his shirt- "don't ever do that again."</p><p>Mk didn't answer, couldn't find an answer. He only hugged his best friend even tighter.</p><p>He shouldn't make a promise he knew he might not be able to keep.</p><p>But he said "I won't, I promise" anyways.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cw: Macaque chapter<br/>Tw: panic attack, animal abuse, animal cruelty, implied animal death, use of the word 'freak,' implied monkey baiting, child abuse considering demons are pretty much people, and implied violence </p><p>This chapter a little dark and angsty whoops but HAPPY EASTER SURPRISE UPDATE HERE IS 2000ISH WORDS OF MONKIE TRAUMA</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Stupid thing's broken."</p><p>"You have to pay, stupid. Can you not read?"</p><p>"Shut up! It's more expensive than the bird."</p><p>"It's a talking monkey! Of course it's more expensive than some stupid bird."</p><p>A coin, clinking against metal.</p><p>"Now what?"</p><p>"Now what," a small voice squeaked.</p><p>"Whoa.. move! Move, let me try!"</p><p>
  <em>Clink.</em>
</p><p>"Fuck."</p><p>"Fuck," the small voice echoed. </p><p>The sound of human laughter bit at Macaque's ears. He opened his eyes, but could not bring himself to turn and look. </p><p>"Come on, already. The fights are starting soon, and I want to place bets on Ning."</p><p>"Hold on," the other human said. "Do you think it's real?"</p><p>"Looks deformed. Probably just an inbred bait monkey."</p><p>"Yeah, probably."</p><p><em>Clink</em>.</p><p>"I'm a freak."</p><p>"I'm a freak," the little monkie echoed.</p><p>Macaque took a deep breath and silenced a painful spike of weakness within him.</p><p>"Must you always remind me of these memories, Yama?" He asked.</p><p>"Would be neither a curse nor a punishment if it was fun," Yama's voice came from behind him. "And I don't actually choose what you see, no matter how much you complain it be so."</p><p>Macaque finally forced himself to turn, giving the small, half-starved young monkie on the iron tree a passing glance of disdain as it played with the slim silver chain that connected its collar to the tree. At the very top branch, which wasn't very high as the iron tree was barely more than a four foot post with poles jutting out from the sides, a brightly feathered bird watched its surroundings with a more critical and judging eye than the small monkie.</p><p>Macaque's hand rose of its own accord towards the scars on his neck, hidden by his ever present scarf. Even after all these years, he could still remember the feel of it cutting into his skin as he outgrew the metal far past the point it should have been replaced.</p><p>One of the humans dropped their food as they left, tossing it carelessly aside. Macaque paused to watch the idiot's face light up as it rushed down its tree, glancing towards the 'trainer' to ensure it wasn't seen, nearly strangling itself against the chain as it reached as far as it could. The bird stomped its foot on its pole to warn the small monkie that it had been noticed by the nearby employed human, the silver chain attached to the band on its leg clinking against the iron, but the monkie did not heed the warning.</p><p>The monkie had only just managed to brush against the edge of the food before the Disobedience Stick came down with a sickening thwack. Macaque winced at the sound of it, looking away as the baby monkie was hit again and again long after it had scurried back up the small iron tree, letting out panicked squeaks as it clung on, curled up to protect the more sensitive areas like its stomach and head, entire body trembling under the merciless whacks.</p><p>Macaque waited until the human had stormed back to the betting booth before looking back to watch his younger self lick at the blood from new and reopened marks alike, sniffling like a weakling.</p><p>How pitiful Macaque had been, pushed to tears at things he'd deserved and brought upon himself. How… weak… he had been, so long ago.</p><p>"Very funny, Yama," Macaque said. "But I have neither time nor patience for this… humilation."</p><p>"It's your memories, not mine," Yama reminded. "I do not choose the punishments, only supervise."</p><p>The bull headed Yama stepped through the tree entirely, the memory showing no sign of noticing the ghost from the future that looked in on it, not even flickering around him.</p><p>"Some versions of ourselves deserve to be left in the dust and forgotten."</p><p>"Nothing is ever forgotten, Macaque-" Yama leaned closer, a hint of amusement pulling at his muzzle as the one year old monkie unwrapped its fluffy tail to show the breaded food it had snatched, little more than crumbs- "what we've seen, what we've done, both good and bad, is who we are."</p><p>Macaque laughed, would have laughed himself to tears if the little monkie bringing the hard won and undeserved food to its mouth hadn't paused as a monkey's dying scream ripped through the air.</p><p>"<em>Night-night, monkey,</em>" the little monkie said, the language of monkeys falling much easier from its mouth than the language of man.</p><p>Talons clicked against metal. Macaque's heart gave a sharp and painful twist in his chest, the bright feathered bird a sharp contrast to the bloody feathers floating through the air in his mind's eye.</p><p>"<em>Worth, was?</em>" Chan asked, the monkey language still relatively new to his beak, though both knew that the language of birds was nothing more than meaningless noise to the little monkie.</p><p>Macaque watched his smaller self break a piece off and offer it to the bird, the species of which had long been extinct in the modern era.</p><p>A crumb, split into two crumbs. Macaque shook his head at the little fool.</p><p>"<em>Keep,</em>" Chan chirped, puffing up his ragged feathers to hide his own thin frame. "<em>Full.</em>"</p><p>The smaller Macaque's hand did not waver.</p><p>Chan let out a long suffering churr and accepted the crumb as gently as anything with a beak could do so, stomping its feet as the smaller Macaque finally ate its own crumb.</p><p>A monkey's shriek bit through the air. </p><p>"<em>…Ning go night-night, monkey?</em>" the small Macaque whispered, eyes wide as it looked to Chan with worry clear across its features.</p><p>"<em>Ning not tired. Not ever,</em>" Chan assured.</p><p>The little monkie did not look too convinced, its ears fanning open and shut of their own accord. It scratched at the scrapes along its arms and hands, marking its worry across its skin in a habit Macaque had long outgrown.</p><p>Chan squawked and flapped his wings.</p><p>"<em>Ears! Ears!</em>" Chan demanded, and the little monkie turned expectant eyes onto the bird.</p><p>Chan plucked a green feather and dropped it. Macaque's younger self giggled as it landed on its head, grabbing it and waving it around as if if it flapped hard enough it would be able to leap into flight.</p><p>"<em>Color?</em>"</p><p>"<em>Green!</em>" </p><p>Chan churred and nibbled at the little monkie's ears, earning a delighted giggle. </p><p>"<em>Show,</em>" Chan said.</p><p>The younger Macaque squeaked and scratched a character into a patch of dust near where one of the poles connected into the iron trunk. Macaque leaned close to examine his younger self's attempt at writing the archaic chinese character. It had been a long time since he'd seen it, but even so he knew it was wrong.</p><p>This memory was a little blurry, having been so long ago. Macaque didn't remember this, but it played as clearly as if he had, and he frowned in confusion as instead of being punished for the mistake as he should have been, Chan merely climbed down to scratch the correct character in and point out where the younger Macaque had gone wrong.</p><p>"I don't remember this."</p><p>"Whether or not we remember correctly, and most rarely do, does not change what actually happened, no matter how we try to convince ourselves otherwise," Yama said. "What we know then, what we know now, well… the things we know can always affect how we see anything. The second time a book is read or a story is told can often be an entirely different experience."</p><p>The bull headed being tilted his head, watching the younger Macaque trying to get it right. </p><p>"Chan was not a bird. Not originally."</p><p>Macaque frowned and glanced Yama's way.</p><p>"A man, cursed into the shape of a bird and trapped soon after to be used as nothing more than a cheap trick.. And yet... still finding value in trying to teach what he knew of the world to something not expected to die of anything less than a bloody and young death," Yama said. "Funny how what we know can change things that have already happened or that we thought we understood, isn't it?"</p><p>Macaque stepped closer, moving to brush his fingers against Chan's feathers. That ever present pain seemed to grow within him as his hand waved through as if there was nothing there. Were the memories the ghost, or was he? Macaque wasn't sure if it even mattered anymore which was.</p><p>A flash of bloodied feathers, the pink froth of White Madness spattered across the ground, crazed eyes, desperate eyes, terrified eyes, the scream of <em>"go"</em> shrieked across an arena of bloodied dirt in a mantra until it was cut off with an awful thud, the crowd roaring in excitement and approval by the winners of bets, disappointment by the losers, noisy, so much noise crushing against him even as everything that had ever mattered was ripped away- Macaque shook the memory away, wincing and stepping away from the tree, blinking away the tears that tried to burn past his eyes at memories better left rotting in the past.</p><p>It hurt. Hurt more than knowing why he was dead. He licked his lips, trying to wipe the sudden feeling of Wukong's kiss away, and then again to wipe away the iron tang of the memory of Ning's blood splattered against his lips.</p><p>Macaque crumpled, hugging his knees as he tried to slow his quickening breathing, lungs tight even as he pulled in gasp after gasp. Gods, he wasn't even in a physical body, he was in this hellish purgatory reliving the past, he shouldn't even need to breath. His nails cut into his palms, Ning's skull nowhere near enough to him to be able to grant him comfort.</p><p>Gods. Air. Why couldn't he get enough air? Macaque choked. Gasped. Struggled to think past fog as his head turned lighter than air. Tried to drag air into flaming lungs.</p><p>Yama merely stood and watched the monkie fall into hysterics, and the one year old Macaque and Chan paid no heed at all. Why would they? This happened long ago. </p><p>Fuck. </p><p>Macaque broke down into silent sobs, no longer caring that he had a witness to this fit of weakness. Silent wails bit against gritted teeth, trembling snarls unable to chase the weakness away. Shook his hands to shake the painful bite of numbness from them, tasted blood as he brought his hand to his mouth and bit, bit as hard as he could. Anything to take away the weakness cutting him straight to the bone sharper than any knife.</p><p>Yama only watched, standing still and staring at him as he shattered. Hadn't been the first time Macaque's time here in this purgatory of time had devolved into this, and both knew it wouldn't be the last.</p><p>Macaque bit past the point of feeling, sobs ceasing as he passed the point of being able to breath. His head hurt, pounded, fogged. Pain.</p><p>He was weak, weakness in every cell of himself, weak to the very point of his soul, and it <strong>burned</strong>.</p><p>His heart started and his eyes opened to shades of gray and bitter smoke. The fog was gone, but the memory of it lingered even as his mind and body neared the end of its reforming.</p><p>Macaque grit his teeth and pulled himself up onto his forearms. Rubble and dust fell off of him, sliding off of his back like rain.</p><p>He looked up, past the still and silence of what once was a park.</p><p>His eyes fell upon the pieces of a familiar remote. Macaque bared his teeth and dragged himself towards it, feeling not yet returned to his legs. He scooped up the pieces and clutched them close.</p><p>Macaque pulled himself to his feet. Reached behind himself and pulled out the knife Wukong had stabbed into him, gritting his teeth at the feeling and internal sound of metal sliding, cutting against bone and through muscle and skin. His body, still powered by the curse bringing everything back into working order, stitched itself back together, and he dropped what had once been one of his favorite knives, letting it clatter to the ground at his side.</p><p>He lit the marks on his arms, his marks flaring in silver light. Macaque turned his gaze towards where his son's marks called to him.</p><p>He took a deep and shuddering breath. </p><p>Macaque was uncertain. For the first time in a long while, he was unsure of himself. Even as his heart screamed and begged to step forward, a tiny part of him asked him if he should turn around, instead.</p><p>Macaque looked around, checking for any sign of witnesses and finding none. He sat down, resting his back against the remains of something green and concrete, and let weakness drag muffled cries out of him, tears falling freely down his face. Remembering Chan brought it back full force, and he struggled under the weight of it.</p><p>Was he certain? Was this truly the best course of action he could take, as he'd so stubbornly been telling himself?</p><p>He crushed the remote in his hands, watched unfixably small pieces drop, and covered the remains with dirt.</p><p>The marks lit of their own accord. </p><p>He stared at them, watched them flicker off. He lit them himself and let them fall dark soon after. They lit again, and the silver light eased some relief into his tired body.</p><p>Macaque closed his eyes, comforted by Mk lighting the marks, and lit them himself one more time, hoping to return the comfort, to let his son know that neither of them would ever be alone again.</p><p>No matter what, he had his son, and his son would always have him.</p><p>More certain, now, Macaque stood and turned his head towards Mk's direction. The marks lit one more time from Mk's end before falling dark. </p><p>Macaque wasn't alone, even if he felt like it. He picked up his knife and slipped it back into its rightful place in his belt, and started on his way.</p><p>Towards the setting sun and, more importantly, towards Mk.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I speedran this bitch from 500 to 3143 words in an hour and ten minutes. Sorry i took so long, I was sick~</p><p>IF YOU DONT REMEMBER LAST CHAPTER BEING A MACAQUE CHAPTER YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk fiddled with his hands as he stepped through the doorway to Pigsy's Noodles for the first time in… well, in forever. </p><p>It didn't seem real. Like he was intruding on somebody else's memories. </p><p>Pigsy's hand landed on his shoulder, and Mk startled. Pigsy's grip tightened for only a second before he gave Mk space, and Mk felt fear eat away at him, telling him that he must have done something wrong or offended him by flinching away. He pushed himself against Pigsy's side on reflex, grabbing hold of the chef's apron with an iron grip.</p><p>Pigsy, to his credit, didn't comment on it.</p><p>"You hungry?" Pigsy asked.</p><p>Mk only shrugged and slid into a seat, staring at his hands and trying to ignore the anxious lashing of his tail. Tang and Mei sat down on either side, neither seeming to know what to say as Sandy hovered awkwardly near the counter.</p><p>"Do you want to go up to your room?" Mei asked, when the silent restaurant got to be too much.</p><p>Mk shook his head.</p><p>"Okay! That's okay," Mei said. "Um…"</p><p>Mk glanced at her. Even trying to hide her frustration, Mk recognized the look of it in her.</p><p>At least that much hadn't changed.</p><p>"I'm not very good at this," Mei admitted. "I'm sorry, Mk."</p><p>"Hey-" Sandy put a large hand on each of their shoulders- "time and care can make anyone feel better. We'll get there, little guys!"</p><p>"I'm sure therapy should be considered," Tang added. "You don't have to go through anything by yourselves. Especially you, Mk."</p><p>"I think therapy is a good idea for everyone. But it's finally behind us, and Mk's home and safe where he belongs-" Pigsy put the largest bowl of noodles Mk had ever seen in front of him- "on the house, all your favorite toppings."</p><p>"Thanks, Pigsy."</p><p>Mk picked up the chopsticks Pigsy sat down and hesitated only for a moment before taking a bite. He closed his eyes at the taste, smiling softly as he savored it.</p><p>"I missed this," he admitted.</p><p>Mk didn't manage to finish the whole bowl, but Tang was more than happy to keep it from going to waste on Mk's behalf. </p><p>Mk stayed mostly quiet, listening to the soft conversation around him, nodding or shaking his head when prompted. But the more they brought up news of the city or anything that had happened during the more than half year that Mk had been gone, the more Mk felt… like an outsider.</p><p>New games at the arcade. New episodes of the tv shows he used to adore and watch with Mei. Hell, even something as simple and stupid as Sandy talking about his progress in a stupid yoga class he'd started taking a few months ago, or Mei mentioning games or vendors he'd never heard of as if they had been around for ages. All of it was different, different and new.</p><p>They were trying so hard to act like everything was okay for Mk's sake. Tip toeing, and still the things that seemed old to them was new to Mk, and he hated that none of them, including him, knew quite what to say or do.</p><p>Half a year…</p><p>"And we definitely need to have, like, the biggest birthday party ever! Right, Mk?"</p><p>Mk looked up from his hands. He'd zoned out of the conversation at some point, and now found himself completely lost.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>Mei's smile only faltered for a second.</p><p>"You… we missed your birthday," Mei said. "I asked if you wanted a make up party at the arcade and- and you nodded, so I thought…"</p><p>Mk shrank a little in his seat.</p><p>"Sorry."</p><p>"N-no, you don't… you don't have to apologize! It's- everything's probably a bit much, huh?"</p><p>"No, it's… it's okay, I don't mind," Mk said. "I'd love a party. But… maybe smaller than one at the arcade."</p><p>"We can have one here," Pigsy offered. "Invite whoever you want, Mk. Doesn't matter if it's a few or a lot, whatever works best for you, kid."</p><p>Mk fiddled with his hands. They were all trying so hard to help him, and his useless ass was too busy being weak and sulking. </p><p>"Pigsy, have you ever been to the Undermarket?"</p><p>Mk cringed at himself. Gods, he hadn't even meant to say that out loud.</p><p>Pigsy and Sandy both went still, freezing in place, Sandy's grip on Mk's shoulder tightening, while Mei and Tang just looked confused.</p><p>"The what?" Tang asked.</p><p>"Don't worry about it, Tang," Sandy said. "Mk, little buddy, I think that's a topic best suited over a- a relaxing cup of tea. Pigsy?"</p><p>"That…" Pigsy took a breath and gave a sharp nod- "that would probably be best."</p><p>"Sorry."</p><p>"Don't be sorry," Pigsy said. "You're fine, kid, you're… you're fine."</p><p>"Did I do something wrong?" Mk asked, shrinking in his seat.</p><p>"No! No, little buddy, you didn't do anything wrong," Sandy said. </p><p>Mo hopped from Sandy's shoulder into Mk's lap, purring as the small monkie scooped the cat up. Mk could understand the idea behind therapy cats, now. The purring did kind of help settle his nerves.</p><p>"Wait, why can't I know about it?" Tang pushed.</p><p>"I mean, I understand the Stone District being a… sore subject," Mk said. "But the other two were okay."</p><p>"Districts?" Tang asked. "What districts?"</p><p>"Tang, not now," Pigsy said.</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"Tang, trust me. Just let it be," Sandy said.</p><p>"Undermarket? Why are we talking about the Undermarket?"</p><p>Mk stiffened and turned at the voice, part of him easing up a little at the sight of Monkey King. </p><p>The golden monkie's fur was wet, the rotten smell and the matted patches of fur both gone from his body. He was still trying to dry his fur off with a towel, though the shorts he'd put on looked like they'd already started soaking up water. The mark on his chest looked kind of like a heart, and reminded Mk of the fluffy heart shaped fluff of fur on his own chest, although the one on Wukong was smaller and not as long furred. But Monkey King looked even smaller without his armor on, his ribs visible under the wet fur, though the dark circles under his eyes had eased up.</p><p>"Are those my pants?" Pigsy asked.</p><p>Monkey King gave a sheepish smile in the face of the pig demon's irritation.</p><p>"Maybe?"</p><p>Pigsy shook his head and grumbled. </p><p>"I'll give them back!" </p><p>Pigsy glared at him.</p><p>"After washing them, of course," Monkey King quickly corrected as he approached.</p><p>He looked Mk over, and a bit of the tension left him.</p><p>"Mk, you look… better," he said softly. "I… I'm s-"</p><p>"If I hear one more apology from anyone tonight, someone's getting hit with a spoon!" </p><p>"Sorry, Pigsy," Mk and Monkey King said in unison, both wincing as Pigsy glared daggers at them both.</p><p>"We should all get some sleep anyways, since we left the hospital so late," Tang said. "I know for a fact that none of you slept at all in that waiting room, and Mk shouldn't be faced with too much excitement after everything he went through."</p><p>"I know for a fact that you didn't either, Tang," Pigsy said. </p><p>"We could have a movie night in Mk's room!" Mei said. "Like a big sleepover!"</p><p>"I… think my room's a little small for everyone," Mk said.</p><p>"We can do things tomorrow," Pigsy said. "The kid looks exhausted."</p><p>It was eventually decided that everyone would bunk up in the break room, in case Mk needed anything, despite Mk saying he was fine. Neither Mei, Pigsy, or Tang had ever believed Mk saying he was fine, so he wasn't too surprised.</p><p>His room, when Pigsy led him up after exchanging his goodnights, was… exactly the same, which was a surprise. He had expected there to have at least been a bunch of dust, but everything looked clean. As if… as if he had never left at all.</p><p>"You going to be okay in here, kid?" Pigsy asked. "You can come stay in the break room with all of us. I think even that stupid monkie's sticking around, too."</p><p>"It's okay," Mk said. "I want to sleep in my bed."</p><p>"You sure you don't want some of us up here with you?"</p><p>"I'll be fine, Pigsy."</p><p>"Are you su-" Pigsy cut himself off and took a deep breath- "alright. Alright, but just- if you need anything-"</p><p>"I'm <em>fine,</em> Pigsy."</p><p>Mk didn't want them to have to worry about him. They'd done enough of that already.</p><p>Even… even if being alone was scary, maybe he would be okay. It was his own room, after all. How could he be scared in his own room?</p><p>"Alright, alright," Pigsy said. "But if you need anything-"</p><p>"You guys are right downstairs, Pigsy, I know. I'll be fine. I'm not made of glass."</p><p>"I worry."</p><p>"Please don't."</p><p>Pigsy only sighed and moved to the door.</p><p>"If you need-"</p><p>"Good<em>night</em>, Pigsy."</p><p>Pigsy gave a soft smile and shook his head. </p><p>"Alright, alright," he relented. "Love you, Mk, goodnight."</p><p>Mk couldn't help his small smile.</p><p>"Love you, too."</p><p>Pigsy shut the door, and Mk switched into lighter clothes to sleep in before crawling into bed after turning off his light.</p><p>It was his own room.</p><p>His.</p><p>He was fine.</p><p>Absolutely fine.</p><p>Mk laid in bed. Reached out and pulled his Monkey King plush close. Gods, he'd missed this stupid thing. Missed his bed. His room.</p><p>Missed his family.</p><p>Mk swallowed and eyed the darkness of the room. His tail lashed under the blanket, that familiar fear starting to surface.</p><p>Mk could have cursed his own body.</p><p>It was his own damn room. And he wasn't alone, his family was right downstairs. He could cough wrong and one would probably come racing up to check on him.</p><p>Mk rolled over and tried to calm himself down. He was being stupid. He wasn't alone, and his door would open if he got up and tried to open it.</p><p>Wouldn't it?</p><p>Mk picked at the bandages on his arms, trying to keep his breathing steady. The room- <em>his</em> room- was dark. Had it always been this dark? And- and empty?</p><p>Mk grabbed his Monkey King plush and clutched it tight to his chest, but it did nothing to make that anxious, stabbing fear ease. His lip wobbled, and he barely kept the tears away as he curled up and squished his face against the plush.</p><p>Pigsy had shut the door behind him. Mk eyed it warily. What if it didn't open ever again?</p><p>"Gods, you're so stupid," Mk hissed at himself.</p><p>He wanted to scream. Felt it scratching at the back of his throat, but he'd already left them worried over him for so long, and acting like an idiot all day probably hadn't helped either. Mk cursed himself.</p><p>Gods, did he even belong here anymore? Did he even deserve to be here with them, after everything that he had done? His eyes watered and he sniffed, quickly wiping the forming tears away, but more had already taken their place. </p><p>He was a murderer. A monster. How could a group of heroes, people as good as them, ever be able to love a monster? </p><p>Mk rolled over, clinging onto the plush so hard that it hurt. </p><p>They weren't his. They couldn't be his ever again. They belonged to the good Mk, the one who would never kill anybody or anything. The Mk who belonged. The Mk who was a hero, who was better, kinder. The Mk he used to be.</p><p>An Mk that didn't act like such a baby over something as stupid as being alone in his own damn room, when he'd made the decision in the first place.</p><p>Mk wanted to scream. To shriek and cry. They'd come running, he knew, if he did. Would hug him, and comfort him, lie and tell him everything was okay and that he was safe, deserved to be safe. They would all come running, because they didn't know. Didn't know he was such a horrid, murderous creature now. Didn't know that their Mk had been replaced with a monster.</p><p>How could they ever trust, let alone love, a monster who was too selfish to choose the life of a person over a damned dog? He closed his eyes and felt the woman's blood on his tongue. Remembered the thrill of the chase, his tiger instincts cheering him on as he covered the distance between them.</p><p>Remembered the feeling of victory as his teeth closed tight on her neck, the stupid little stick she'd snatched up to brandish against him snapping under his weight, leaving nothing more than a dark bruise that had stuck around for days, the only sign besides a scrape on his face from when she'd let a branch go to smack into his head that she had tried so stubbornly to cling onto her life.</p><p>He'd killed her. Chased her down like a deer and killed her.</p><p>And it had been fun.</p><p>He didn't deserve them. They were good. They were heroes. And he- he was a monster. They didn't deserve to be forced to pretend to love him, to pretend to be okay with playing make pretend as if he wasn't a monster. </p><p>Mk's eyes drifted to the bandages on his arms, all too aware of the marks beneath them. If any of them had seen them, they hadn't mentioned them. </p><p>Monkey King killing father flashed through his head, and Mk felt almost sick.</p><p>Father loved him. Father kept him safe. Father always knew what to do, always knew what Mk should and should not do.</p><p>Mk lit the marks. </p><p>It was like a feeling, more than anything. A tug, far off. Macaque was out there, alive again, and Mk let the marks go dim again.</p><p>But he wasn't moving. Wasn't- wasn't coming for him-</p><p>The marks lit. Father- Macaque was reaching out to him. </p><p>Mk stared at the glow of the marks, and felt a little of his fear drift away. The light chased the loneliness and fear away, and Mk couldn't help a small smile as he lit the marks again when the light faded away.</p><p>Macaque lit them one more time. He was heading towards Mk, Mk could sense it. He was coming for him. </p><p>The smile dropped away.</p><p>Oh. Oh, gods, what had he done?</p><p>Mk picked his plush back up and buried himself in his blanket. His room was horribly quiet, even with the sounds of the city, and Mk's pounding heart sounded much too loud.</p><p>It wasn't long before Mk heard his window slide open.</p><p>He didn't move from his bed, staying as still as he could. In the corner of his eye, a shadow slid in through the window and down the wall, cutting a silent path across his floor through the moonlight. </p><p>Macaque stepped from it, solidifying and looming over Mk, and Mk didn't make a sound as the monkie stared down at him. Mk only watched, staring up at the monkie.</p><p>Macaque reached out towards him, running a gentle hand across the fur on Mk's head. Mk couldn't help but lean into it, feeling reassured now that Macaque was here, and things could finally make sense again in a way he could understand.</p><p>The door creaked open, and Macaque disappeared, while Mk went motionless. </p><p>"You see, Wukong, I told you, he- Mk, what are you doing still awake?"</p><p>Mk sat up and fiddled with the edge of his blanket. All he could manage was a shrug.</p><p>Pigsy sighed and stepped in, Monkey King following him in before the pig demon could shut the door on him.</p><p>Pigsy sat down at the foot of Mk's bed. His expression was one only of concern.</p><p>"You okay?"</p><p>"…Yeah," Mk lied.</p><p>"Kid, I know you better than that."</p><p>Mk fiddled with the edge of the blanket, picking at loose threads.</p><p>Monkey King eased down next to him, watching him for the slightest sign of unease on Mk's part. Having the weight of the great sage next to him did make him feel a little better, and he grabbed the end of the other monkie's tail when its slow waving drew it within reach.</p><p>Mk leaned against Monkey King's side, fiddling with the golden tail to avoid meeting either of their eyes. Mk eyed the shadows, but didn't say anything.</p><p>"I… it's nothing, don't worry about it."</p><p>Pigsy took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his snout.</p><p>"Wukong, do you mind giving Mk and I some privacy?"</p><p>Monkey King gave a hesitant nod and stood. His tail was still flicking anxiously as he stepped out of the room.</p><p>"…I'm not going to push you to talk about it. I trust you enough to know that you'll tell me when you're ready to, no matter if that time is minutes from now or years from now, and I sure as hell don't expect you to want to tell me everything all at once because I know you, Mk."</p><p>"What if the person you know is just someone you knew, now?" </p><p>Pigsy held an arm out and Mk moved over to lean against the demon, quiet as Pigsy wrapped his arm around Mk, and Mk felt a little better. Before Macaque, before even Monkey King, or Tang, or even Mei, Pigsy had taken him in. Cleaned him up, gave him some food that hadn't been dug out of the trash, and put him in a warm bed far from the streets. He almost felt as small as he had back then, and felt another spike of guilt, knowing he didn't deserve Pigsy, not anymore, as if he had ever deserved him in the first place.</p><p>"Then I'll just have to get know them again," Pigsy told him. "No matter how hard they may think it will be."</p><p>Mk threw his arms around Pigsy and clung on tight, burying his face in Pigsy's shoulder.</p><p>"I'm sorry-" Mk sobbed- "Pigsy- I-I'm so sorry!"</p><p>Pigsy held onto Mk just as tightly, rubbing circles into his back, holding him while he broke down into tears. Pigsy stayed quiet, letting Mk tire himself out, quiet despite the tears and snot Mk was no doubt soaking into the pig demon's nightshirt.</p><p>"You'd hate me," Mk whispered, when he'd finally run dry of tears. "If I ever told you, you'd hate me."</p><p>"Kid, nothing you could ever say or do could ever make me hate you," Pigsy said, without even a heartbeat of hesitation.</p><p>Over Pigsy's shoulder, Mk saw two purple orbs staring at the pair from the shadows on the wall. He opened his mouth, but even now couldn't bring himself to speak.</p><p>"I… I'm scared of being alone," Mk admitted.</p><p>"You're home, Mk," Pigsy said. "You don't have to be."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mk's trying to force himself into a normal routine, but Macaque constantly at his heels makes him desperate to appear strong</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mk wasn't sure that there was a single moment in the last few hours where Monkey King wasn't nearby. </p><p>The monkie had taken on a human form to blend in with the customers, Pigsy having not shut down for the day as planned when Mk, desperate for any sense of normalcy, had begged him not to. From where Mk had been stuck on counter, while Mei did the orders he knew he should be delivering, he was in a perfect spot to watch the Monkey King pace and unsettle the customers, his 'belt' twitching anxiously. </p><p>Mk hid his arms and lit the marks. Macaque still lurked nearby, somewhere behind him. Mk snuck a glance back, but the monkie had tucked himself away in the shadows under the fridge, eyes watching Pigsy move around the kitchen.</p><p>"Pigsy's going to hit you with a spoon, you keep marching lines into his floor," Tang spoke up.</p><p>"I think I liked you better when you thought I was awesome and amazing-" Monkey King managed to sit for all of two seconds before he was up again- "your hero worship was more tolerable."</p><p>"It's hard to put someone on a pedestal after watching them go through fifty tubs of peach ice cream."</p><p>Monkey King finally sat down, and Mk stifled a laugh at how offended his mentor looked.</p><p>"You promised we'd never speak of that again," Monkey King said.</p><p>"No, you said 'we never speak of this again' and I slurped my noodles."</p><p>Someone was slamming on the bell, and Mk quickly scurried off to take the blue haired guy's order. He rushed through the order, only stumbling to find the needed buttons on the kiosk for a minute before sending the irritated man away to wait while he delivered a few orders to their respective tables.</p><p>Monkey King was pacing again by the time Mk was back. He handed out the last few orders before coming back to the counter. Only a few minutes later, the blue haired man was back and banging on the bell.</p><p>Mk rushed over only to be faced with the angry customer yelling about the spiciness of his food. It took a lot to force down the urge to snarl or flinch away, but he managed.</p><p>Mk plastered his fakest smile onto his face.</p><p>"Sir, you ordered the dan dan mian."</p><p>"My taste buds were just starting to feel better from that shitty spice stall in New Years!"</p><p>"Sir, you ordered the dan dan mian."</p><p>"That doesn't mean I wanted my taste buds seared off!"</p><p>"Sir," Mk said slowly. "You ordered… the dan dan… mian."</p><p>"Don't you talk down to me!"</p><p>Mk hesitated when he noticed purple eyes watching the confrontation from beneath a table in the lobby, with a stare of disapproval he knew all too well, and so he grabbed the front of the guy's shirt and yanked him close.</p><p>"That pretty little mouth of yours is going to get you killed one day," Mk chirped sweetly. "Is it going to be today, sir?"</p><p>The man went silent, staring at him with wide eyes. The disapproval had eased from Macaque's stare, and so Mk let the man go, emotionless as he stumbled backwards in terror.</p><p>"I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER!" The blue haired man shrieked.</p><p>Monkey King perked up at the sudden scream and honed in, storming over, his tail unwrapping entirely from around his waist to lash furiously.</p><p>"Hey! Hey, don't fucking yell at my kid!"</p><p>"He- he <em>threatened</em> my <em>life!"</em></p><p>"My kid would never!"</p><p>"H-he just did!" Blue haired guy shrieked. "He just threatened my life!"</p><p>"Bullshit!"</p><p>"Are you even the manager?" </p><p>"I'm the goddamned king! Don't yell at my kid!"</p><p>"Everybody in this restaurant is insane!" The customer shrieked. "I'm rating zero stars, I should have gone to the one across the-!"</p><p>The customer's scream when Mk vaulted over the counter was almost funny. </p><p>"Zero stars?" Mk shrieked. "Then I'll take a finger for all five of them!"</p><p>He grabbed the customer's hand and yanked it to his mouth, biting down as hard as he could. Monkey King barely got his hand in between Mk's jaws in time to save the asshole's finger, cursing as he scooped his arm around Mk and lifted his kicking form up into the air.</p><p>Mk glanced towards Macaque, emboldened when Macaque gave a slight nod. Mk nearly puffed his fur up with pride in himself for doing something right without needing told.</p><p>"Put him in the kitchen," Mk heard Pigsy snap out, and felt a sudden doubt at the sound of his tone. "Get Mk away from this. Now."</p><p>Monkey King carried Mk to the kitchen, though Mk had stopped kicking and biting at his arms seconds after getting picked up. Monkey King slid down the wall in the kitchen, still holding onto Mk, softly petting the fur on top of Mk's head as he let his human form fall away, and Mk happily curled up against Monkey King's chest and closed his eyes, pretending Monkey King smelled like plums.</p><p>"Wukong," Mk heard Pigsy speak. "Come here, you need to be a part of this, leave Mk there to calm down."</p><p>Monkey King put him down and Mk let him, trying not to look towards where Macaque was now staring out from beneath the stove. The second Monkey King was out of the kitchen, Macaque slithered over and materialized.</p><p>Mk glanced towards the kitchen entrance, but everyone was out in the lobby trying to fix the situation. No, the mess. The mess Mk caused. But then Macaque put a hand on his shoulder, and when Mk looked up, the monkie looked proud.</p><p>"We are not things," Macaque hissed. "You did good, to put him in his place."</p><p>Mk leaned against Macaque and let out a small sigh, curling into the comforting scent of plums. Macaque's ears flared and he lifted his head towards the kitchen doorway. Mk's own ears perked up, barely catching the words.</p><p>"-we can't help him. He needs to go somewhere that will know how to help him. Sandy will be better at knowing how best to get Mk back on his feet."</p><p>"And what if he can't?"</p><p>"…Then we find somewhere that can. It kills me, but if he stays here he's a threat to the civilians. If the demon division has to step in, they'll take him with or without our word."</p><p>Mk grit his teeth, but felt no anger. Only a sharp and throbbing pain within him as he pressed his ears as flat as he could.</p><p>A threat. </p><p>He was a threat. </p><p>They wanted to get rid of him! They just got him back and they wanted to get rid of him!</p><p>"I want to go home," Mk demanded.</p><p>Macaque bit his lip and glanced at Mk. Mk watched the monkie lift his hand beneath his scarf and rub uncomfrtably at his neck. </p><p>"Father, I want-" </p><p>Macaque disappeared a heartbeat before the kitchen door swung back open, and Mk's mouth snapped shut. He turned to look as Pigsy stepped in.</p><p>Pigsy looked… tired. He looked so terribly exhausted, physically and mentally drained, and Mk felt horrible because he knew it was his fault. </p><p>"Mk…" Pigsy trailed off and let out a deep breath before crouching down in front of Mk. "Mk, I… there is nothing I want more than to help you the best that I can. It's all I've ever wanted when it comes to you. But… I don't know this stuff enough to help you this time."</p><p>Mk felt his eyes start to burn, but stubbornly kept his gaze on the ground.</p><p>"You're getting rid of me," Mk spat.</p><p>"Mk-" Pigsy reached forward and cupped his face, lifting Mk's head to look at him- "I'm saying now what I said to you then. No matter how difficult, no matter how hard, there is nothing on heaven or earth that could get me to give up on you."</p><p>"You're getting rid of me!" Mk shrieked. "I heard you! You guys-"</p><p>Pigsy pulled him close into a hug, and Mk wrapped his arms tightly around the demon.</p><p>"We can't help you," Pigsy croaked. "But between- between the therapy cats and having sessions with Sandy's therapist, maybe staying with Sandy can."</p><p>Pigsy's grip on him tightened.</p><p>"We would never get rid of you, Mk. There will always be a place here for you. But what's important right now is helping you, and- and if staying at Sandy's is the best thing we can do to help, then… then it's what has to happen, and Wukong says he'll come along, too, to help as much as he can. He's already getting in contact with his lawyer to get ahead of this situation if anything happens, and being away from all the noise in the heart of the city might do you some good."</p><p>Mk only sniffed and wiped his tears off on Pigsy's shirt.</p><p>"But I'm leaving it up to you," Pigsy said. "You've already had too many of your choices taken away, and I refuse to be the one to take even one more away from you."</p><p>"I'm sorry."</p><p>"You don't have to be sorry, Mk," Pigsy told him. "I- we're here for you. All of us. None of this is your fault."</p><p>Mk let go and sat back, wiping angrily at the tears on his face, and Pigsy let him.</p><p>"You are like a-" Pigsy shook his head- "no. You <em>are</em> my son, Mk. I want the best for you, and right now this is the best I've got. Just… think on it. Okay?"</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Pigsy nodded and wiped his own tears away, as well.</p><p>"Tang doesn't hear about this," Pigsy said. "Can't have that mooch thinking I've become a softie or he'll eat me out of business."</p><p>Mk sniffed and gave a shaky smile.</p><p>"Course, Pigsy," Mk rasped. "Nobody would ever think you were a softie."</p><p>Pigsy gave him a fond smile and ruffled his hair.</p><p>"That's my Mk. Now how about we let Tang put his lazy butt to work for once taking orders, and you and I can make some noodles?" Pigsy asked. "You can be my little kitchen helper again."</p><p>Mk couldn't help gaining a fond smile of his own, even after his eyes caught on Macaque, watching from under the stove with narrowed eyes.</p><p>Mk hesitated as Pigsy grabbed and held out an extra apron, but found himself reaching for it all the same.</p><p>"Yeah," Mk said. "Yeah, okay."</p><p>Pigsy smiled, and Mk felt a little better seeing some of that exhaustion seem to ease off of his shoulders.</p><p>"Alright, now first-"</p><p>"I wash my hands, I know," Mk said. "Pretty sure I could make the whole menu in my sleep by this point, Pigsy."</p><p>He wiped the last of his tears away and washed his hands at the sink as Pigsy grumbled about teens being snarky, though there was no actual irritation in the pig demon's tone. </p><p>"Alright, wise guy, how about some birthday noodles?"</p><p>"Aw, man, you know I always accidentally break the long noodles for those!"</p><p>"Well then I'll just have to show you again," Pigsy said. "Now, when you make longer noodles-"</p><p>"Oh, come on, Pigsy! Yours don't count. I'm pretty sure you use some sort of oogly boogly demon magic on those things."</p><p>"The art of noodlemaking is not oogly boogly demon magic! Anyone can do it! Now pay attention this time, and maybe you'll even get a whole bowl without breaking a noodle."</p><p>"So... what did you tell the guy, anyways?" Mk asked after a moment of hesitation.</p><p>"I told the dumbass that if he didn't want spicy noodles he shouldn't have ordered the dan dan mian!" Pigsy snapped out. "As if Pigsy's Noodles would ever deliver anything less than the most authentic of noodle cuisine!"</p><p>Mk laughed and stepped up beside him, pretending to listen to the proceeding lesson on noodle making that they both knew he never paid attention to long enough to get right. But that was alright, because whether he got the noodles right or not, Pigsy always said that the most important thing was just showing up and trying.</p><p>And maybe, for now, just trying was enough.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yall bout to hate me lmao</p><p>Cw and tw: vomit, so much angst and also some violence and also brief asphyxiation</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He barreled through the forest, the thrill of the hunt racing through him like lightning. For every single one of his strides counted for dozens of the rabbit's, and his paws ate the ground like a wildfire. </p><p>There was no escape. Not from him.</p><p>She was his. His!</p><p>His claws and teeth ached for her blood, and the tiger's instricts howled through his head, through his heart, through every inch of his body. Ahead, his prey tripped, and a rumble of excitement zapped through him.</p><p>Kill! The tiger's mind roared </p><p>Yes! The voice within the cat agreed, caught in the giddy thrill of closing in. Kill! Kill! Kill!</p><p>He pounced, and something whipped back into his face. The tiger fell back, spitting and snarling, cheek stinging from the hit of the branch that had been let go into his face.</p><p>"Bitch!" He snarled, and charged after his fleeing prey as she scurried into an old and hollowed log. </p><p>The big cat was too big to fit in after her, and he snarled his irritation as he jumped onto the bloody surface of bark as skeletal vultures settled in the tree, the empty sockets in their skulls angled towards the tiger and his prey.</p><p>The tiger paused, shaking blood from his fur as the ground started to seep, puddles of blood forming and turning larger.</p><p>This isn't how it went, something inside him growled. This isn't how it goes.</p><p>But she was running, the woman was running, and the tiger snapped back and charged after her. The trees flickered around him, blood seeping more and more until he was wading through the stuff. Still, he did not relent, even as the woman pulled ahead faster than before.</p><p>And then suddenly he was on top of her, and she was bleeding out beneath him, her life seeping into his mouth. The forest was quiet, the feet of blood gone and his fur dry. He lifted his head, blood dripping from his muzzle, trying to remember having caught up enough to pounce. </p><p>The tiger licked his lips and looked down into Mei's lifeless face.</p><p>The tiger froze, and Mk let out a bloodcurdling scream.</p><p>Mk jolted awake in a mess of his own sweat and tears, cold sweat soaking into the sheets of his bed. He tried to catch his breath and reached around for Macaque, marks lighting when his hand closed around air.</p><p>But Macaque wasn't even there.</p><p>Mk rolled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, throwing up until he was left dry heaving into the toilet. His throat burned as he gagged, unable to breathe as his body choked in its own desperate attempts to empty his stomach.</p><p>When it was finally over, Mk clung to the side of the toilet, sobbing as his body trembled and shook. When he could finally pull himself up onto shaky legs, he wiped his face and blew his nose.</p><p>Mk moved to the sink and paused when he went to turn on the faucet. He stared at his human hands, trying to remember when he must have turned back. He'd never turned back in his sleep, and he could have sworn he was in monkie form when he entered the bathroom. Mk took a deep breath and changed back to monkie as he brought cupped hands to his mouth. Once he had rinsed his mouth out and brushed his teeth to get as much of the aftertaste of his stomach acid out as he could, he looked up into the mirror at himself.</p><p>"Just a nightmare," Mk said. </p><p>His reflection didn't look convinced.</p><p>Mk took a deep breath and dried off his face before stepping out of the bathroom. It was early, but Pigsy should have opened by now. Instead, he heard none of the usual bustle of customers from below. </p><p>Mk left his room and started down the stairs. He could hear voices now, and felt a little bit better until he realised they were all familiar voices. </p><p>He heard his name and paused on the stairs. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, should just go downstairs and say good morning, but Mk found himself pausing on the stairs and perking up his ears out of habit.</p><p>Crying. Mei's crying.</p><p>Mk felt his heart drop.</p><p>"-and I can't even help, he's so- he's so quiet, he doesn't act like, like- and all I do is make things worse and- and- he hasn't even asked about- about anything, and- and-"</p><p>Mei's voice dropped into sobs, each one cutting into Mk like claws.</p><p>"Mei, he just needs ti-"</p><p>"Time isn't making it better!" Mei shrieked, cutting Tang off. "Nothing is making it better! He doesn't smile, o-or- a-and he doesn't- he just looks so scared and sad and- and I can't even make him feel better, all I do is make everything worse and I look at him and I don't even see Mk and it makes me so mad at myself because that isn't fair of me and it makes me feel like- like I'm the worst friend ever. I can't- I can't even help-" </p><p>"Mei, everything's going to be okay," Pigsy spoke.</p><p>"Nothing is okay! Everybody keeps acting like it's going to be okay, but it isn't! I just keep... I just keep making everything worse even when I'm just trying to help."</p><p>"Look, why don't I take her with me to go help Sandy get the room ready for Mk?" Tang asked. "Give her some time to calm down and we can have this talk then?"</p><p>"The kid might be up by then," Mk heard Monkey King say. "I can run you both over, and when things settle back down you can text me and I'll head over with Mk and Pigsy."</p><p>"Beats finding a way over with a good portion of the main roads still down," Tang said. "Mei, you going to be okay with that?"</p><p>Mk heard her let out a miserable sniff, and he snuck back up the stairs to his room before he could hear her answer. </p><p>Mk climbed onto his bed and curled up in a ball, wrapping his tail tightly around himself. He bit his lip, only stopping at the taste of blood when he bit too hard. Mei's lifeless eyes flashed through his head. He felt nauseas, but there was nothing left in him to choke up. </p><p>She wasn't the one making everything worse, Mk was. Mei was trying so hard, and he couldn't- Mk couldn't be there for her. Wasn't sure if he could. Wasn't sure if he even deserved to be able to. </p><p>Mk wasn't sure how long it was before he heard his window slide open, and Macaque let himself back in. Mk opened his eyes and rolled over to stare at the monkie.</p><p>Macaque stared back for a moment before grabbing the Monkey King plush that had fallen to the ground during Mk's rush to the bathroom that morning. The monkie held it out to him, and Mk reached out and accepted it, pulling the plush close to his chest and feeling a little better at the familiar scent and feel of the plush. </p><p>"Monkey King is gone," Mk rasped.</p><p>"Yes," Macaque said. "The shop is empty."</p><p>"So why are we still here?" </p><p>Macaque frowned.</p><p>"Why is not a word you need bother yourself with, kiddo," Macaque warned.</p><p>Mk only stared at him.</p><p>"You're going after Monkey King," Mk accused.</p><p>Macaque let out a small snort, looking surprised. He glanced at Mk from the corner of his eyes, somehow looking both sad and amused at the same time.</p><p>"No," Macaque said. "I... this is not a matter you need to worry over. This is mine."</p><p>"You haven't taken me back to the castle."</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>Mk flinched the second the forbidden word left his mouth, but Macaque did not react.</p><p>"I don't know."</p><p>Mk stared at him, but Macaque did not continue. </p><p>Mk sat up and hopped off of his bed, leaving the plush be. Something bitter bit at his chest, grief turning into something sharp and poisonous, and he didn't know why. Knew only that his hands were balling into fists as unshed tears burned at his eyes.</p><p>"So what?" Mk snapped. "You turn me into a fucking monster and then what? Get bored of me? Are you fucking bored of me now?"</p><p>Macaque blinked, mouth opening and closing without saying anything, looking almost blindsided by this response.</p><p>"All I seem to do anymore is hurt people," Mk spat. "And- and you're just going to fucking stand there and tell me you don't know? Just- just fucking <em>lurking </em>there, always right there, right- right there all the time, all the fucking time-!"</p><p>Macaque reached out towards him and Mk flinched back.</p><p>"You took <em>everything </em>from me!" Mk shrieked. "You killed me. You fucking killed me!"</p><p>Macaque tilted his head and stepped towards him.</p><p>"You're not dead."</p><p>In Mk's mind's eye, he watched his bloody bandana disintegrate in the skeletal tree's hand.</p><p>"Xiaotian is dead," Mk croaked. "I'm just the monster you put in his place."</p><p>Macaque's hand shot out and grabbed him, and Mk screamed as the monkie pulled him close. He bit and kicked, screaming and shrieking like a wild beast as Macaque held on, but the older monkie didn't flinch.</p><p>"We are not monsters," Macaque said. "We are strong. We are alive."</p><p>"You're a monster! And you turned me into one, too! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"</p><p>Macaque let go, and Mk darted out of reach, fur puffed up as he snarled at Macaque from where he shoved himself into the corner beneath his desk.</p><p>"You don't mean that," Macaque said.</p><p>"I hate you!" </p><p>Macaque's face twisted, looking pained.</p><p>"You're a monster," Mk snarled. "We're monsters."</p><p>"Stop," Macaque hissed.</p><p>"I hate you!"</p><p>"Stop it!"</p><p>"You're a monster, a horrid, awful, monster who should have stayed dead! I hate you! I hate you more than I've ever hated anything, you fucking asshole of a monster!"</p><p>Macaque bared his teeth, taking his pain and twisting it into rage. </p><p>"Stop!" Macaque screamed. His scream echoed in the tiny room like a gunshot. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, you- you wretched little shit!"</p><p>Mk went silent, staring and trembling underneath his desk as Macaque stormed towards him. The older monkie grabbed the desk and threw it to the side with barely any effort, standing over Mk and looking madder than Mk had ever seen him as the desk hit a dent into the wall and splintered apart.</p><p>"Disrespectful, disobedient little freak!" Macaque snapped. "We're monsters, so what? We are alive! We are strong!"</p><p>Macaque grabbed him and yanked him up, slamming him against the wall, grip tight around Mk's neck. Mk scrabbled helplessly against the older monkie's grip, lungs starting to burn only seconds after the monkie's grip had tightened. Mk squeaked, clawing at Macaque's hands, and the monkie dropped him like he'd been burned.</p><p>"What are you going to do?" Macaque snarled. "Kill me?"</p><p>Macaque yanked a knife from his belt. Mk cowered, but Macaque only shoved the handle into Mk's hands and wrapped his fingers around it. Macaque yanked Mk's hands up, pressing the tip of the knife against his belly.</p><p>"Go on, then," Macaque ordered. "Kill me."</p><p>Mk felt the tears start to pour free. His hands shook so terribly, he was afraid he might cut Macaque just by accident.</p><p>"Please," Macaque begged, and Mk looked up to see the monkie crying, and froze as he tried to remember seeing the monkie having ever cried before. "Kill me."</p><p>Mk felt like there were hands still tight around his throat. </p><p>"Kill me!" Macaque shrieked.</p><p>"I can't."</p><p>Macaque's grip went limp around Mk's hands. Mk dropped the knife as if it had burned him. He scrambled out of Macaque's grasp and backed away until he was well out of reach.</p><p>"I can't," Mk croaked, voice cracking pathetically around the words. "I can't."</p><p>Macaque's face was terrifyingly blank, and his tail hung limply. He looked dead, even as his chest heaved, and even looming over Mk he looked horribly small.</p><p>Slowly, Macaque reached down and picked up the knife. He walked towards Mk with stumbling steps, and held the knife out handle first.</p><p>"I want what's best for you," Macaque said, and he sounded more honest than Mk had ever heard him sound before, something raw in his face, his voice, his shaking hands. "I just want what's best for you."</p><p>"I can't kill you," Mk said. "I'm sorry. I can't."</p><p>Macaque let out a broken noise and dropped the knife. Mk flinched as it clattered onto the ground. </p><p>"I am a monster," Macaque croaked. "You're all I have. And you're better off if you aren't."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>Macaque moved towards the window and Mk felt cold panic shoot through him as he realised he was being abandoned.</p><p>"No!" Mk got in the way, pushing against the larger monkie's chest. "No!"</p><p>Macaque grabbed him and tried to move him out of the way.</p><p>"You don't need me anymore," Macaque said. "Let go."</p><p>"I can't," Mk sobbed. "Don't leave me! Please! Please don't! I need you!"</p><p>Macaque tried to pull him off, but Mk held on for dear life, struggling to keep Macaque from leaving him behind. Trying desperately to keep from being abandoned, knowing only that he needed Macaque. Couldn't remember a way to live without him and terrified of a life where he could.</p><p>"Stop!" Mk begged. "Please! Please-!"</p><p>Mk's door splintered, and the next thing he knew, a hand had yanked him back, driving what looked at first to be a stick hard into Macaque's chest and sending the monkie flying back into the wall. </p><p>"Get the hell away from my kid!" Pigsy roared, shoving Mk behind him, looking madder than Mk had ever seen him look before. </p><p>At first, Mk assumed Pigsy was brandishing a mop, but a second look proved him wrong. </p><p>It was a rake.</p><p>Macaque's familiar mask fell over his face as he pried himself out of the new hole in Mk's wall. The monkie was silent, looking from Pigsy to the window, which now sat on the other side of the room to where he'd been thrown. Macaque's tail lashed as he bared his teeth, but Mk recognized the signs of uncertainty in the monkie.</p><p>"Macaque," Pigsy spat. "Wish I could say you seem to have changed at all, after all these years, but you're still an ugly bastard."</p><p>"Bajie," Macaque said, slipping the last of the fake confidence onto his face, as if the fur on his face wasn't still soaked with tears. "I'd say you've changed, but your choice of weapon is still just as stupid as it's always been."</p><p>Macaque laughed and crossed his arms as Pigsy scowled at him.</p><p>"Let me guess, this is the part where you say some stupid line about sweeping out the trash," Macaque said.</p><p>"No, this is the part where you stay right there and I get to watch Wukong tear your ass a new one when he gets back."</p><p>Macaque stiffened, his tail freezing mid-lash. </p><p>"I was just leaving, actually," Macaque said. </p><p>His tone was sharp. The same sharpness that always came before something bad, and Mk took a sharp breath in as he tried to make himself look smaller.</p><p>"Yeah," Pigsy agreed. "In pieces."</p><p>Macaque tilted his head, his eyes narrowing at Pigsy as the two stood at an uncomfortable standstill. </p><p>"Now, now," Macaque said. "I don't think Wukong needs to take part in this, don't you?"</p><p>"Can't agree," Pigsy said. "You're not touching my kid. Not again. Not ever again."</p><p>"Is that a challenge?"</p><p>"It's a promise."</p><p>Macaque laughed as if this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.</p><p>"I could have the kid kill you, and he'd do it, you know," Macaque said. "I was going to leave, but now? Maybe now I'll take Mk with me just to piss... you... off."</p><p>Pigsy said nothing, only glaring. Mk's head was still spinning too much to even register what was being said, staring at Pigsy in shock.</p><p>Macaque... Macaque had called him Bajie. Pigsy was- Pigsy was the same Pigsy, same rake, same- same Pigsy. Why had he never said anything? Did... did Pigsy even trust him? Did Pigsy even actually love him, if it wasn't enough to tell him something like this?</p><p>"You're lying," Pigsy said.</p><p>"All I have to do is give the signal, and he'll rip you to pieces without hesitation," Macaque laughed. "You'd be dead, porkchop, and I wouldn't even have to lift a finger."</p><p>"Then do it. Because I'm not moving."</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>